Suspicious Closets: Strengthening the Claim to Suspect Classification and Same-Sex Marriage Rights

Abstract

Ever since gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts in 2003, the gay marriage debate has consumed much of the American political conscience. While many important questions concerning equal protection, the institution of marriage, and modern conceptions of family have been asked, few have stopped to question what (aside from Judeo-Christian moral issues) makes homosexuals so wrong—so undeserving of the right to marry and have a family. The process of deviant identity construction and the optional “closet” must be comprehended in order for the gay claim to equal protection and suspect classification to be fully considered and appropriately evaluated. Once gays are properly regarded as a suspect class, laws prohibiting gay marriage will, in all likelihood, fail strict scrutiny analysis.