The Volokh Conspiracy

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Volokh Conspiracy

Upcoming debate on same-sex marriage at the University of Chicago Law School

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On Tuesday March 29, from 12:15 to about 1:30 PM, I will take part in a debate on the Supreme Court's 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, which invalidated state down laws banning same-sex marriage. The event will be held at the University of Chicago Law School in Room V. My opponent will be Sherif Girgis, a prominent conservative critic of same-sex marriage. We may also get into some of the moral and policy issues surrounding same-sex marriage, if time permits.

The talk is sponsored by the University of Chicago Federalist Society, and is open to the public. If you are a Volokh Conspiracy reader and are able to come, I look forward to meeting you.

My own view of Obergefell is that the Supreme Court got the result right, but did not do a very good job of justifying it. It would have done better to rely on any of a number of possible stronger rationales for the same result, including the sex discrimination argument advanced in an amicus brief I coauthored with Northwestern University law Professor Andrew Koppelman.

Girgis and I have previously debated the sex discrimination argument in an online exchange. See here for my last post in the series, which has links to earlier posts by both Girgis and myself.