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Austin Bramwell: The Perry decision creates ?a new limit on government expression?

By Alliance Alert

Austin Bramwell writing at The League of Ordinary Gentlemen: "It strikes me that Perry is a revolutionary decision, and not just because it breaks new ground on the right to marry and equal protection. As far as I know (and I am furthest thing from a constitutional law scholar), heretofore the only limit on government expression was that the government may not convey a message that a particular religious belief is endorsed or preferred (the so-called 'endorsement test'). This limit is derived from the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. If Perry is upheld, we will have a new limit on government expression derived from the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Call it the 'non-disparagement test.? Unlike the endorsement test, which officially is designed to keep government neutral between competing viewpoints (religion and non-religion), the non-disparagement test will actually require the government to favor a particular viewpoint (egalitarianism). This seems like an ominous development for the future of liberty. That, at least is one reason to care about dispute in Perry."

Full post as published by Constitutionally Correct on August 05, 2010 (boomark / email).