Justice Kennedy compares same-sex marriage case to one on flag-burning
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, in his first public remarks since the court last month ended state bans on same-sex marriage, compared the uproar over that decision to similar controversy when the court ruled in 1989 that flag-burning is protected speech, the Associated Press reports.
Speaking in San Diego at the 9th Circuit Judicial Conference, Kennedy was responding to a moderator’s question about how justices deal with reaction to high-profile cases.
“Eighty senators went to the floor of the Senate to denounce the court,” Kennedy said of the reaction 26 years ago to the decision that allows burning of the American flag. “President Bush took the week off and visited flag factories, but I noticed that after two or three months, people began thinking about the issues.”
Though saying no more about the same-sex marriage ruling or any others of the past term, Kennedy did describe how the justices make their decisions.
“We have to reflect on what these issues mean, and when we have a controversial case—and a very difficult case like (same-sex marriage)—we draw down on a capital of trust, a deposit of trust,” said Kennedy, who was the swing vote in both the flag-burning and same-sex marriage cases. “We spend that capital of trust, and we have to rebuild that capital. We have to put new deposits, new substance into this reservoir of trust.”
