If he is, the decision on DOMS should be thrown out!
There was little doubt that later that morning, this quietly powerful justice would be having a major say in the legal, political, and social path of gay rights moving forward.
And at precisely 10 a.m., Kennedy kicked off the public session with his eloquent majority ruling striking down a key part of a federal law that blocks a range of benefits for legally married gay and lesbian couples.
The Defense of Marriage Act "humiliates tens of thousands of children now being raised by same-sex couples," he said. "The law in question makes it even more difficult for the children to understand the integrity and closeness of their own family and its concord with other families in their community and in their daily lives."
It was vintage Kennedy -- a mix of sweeping rhetoric mixed with practical legal and social considerations.
"If Bill Clinton was 'the first black president,' Anthony Kennedy has now firmly secured his place in history as 'the first gay justice,'" said Michael Dorf, a law professor at Cornell University and a former Kennedy law clerk. "Justice Kennedy makes clear that he not only accepts, but welcomes the task of writing majestic opinions affirming the dignity of gay persons and couples."
Kennedy, a moderate-conservative, is in many ways the "power broker" on the court. He shared the role of a "swing vote" with fellow centrist Sandra Day O'Connor before she retired seven years ago.
"The basic principle is, it's Justice Kennedy's world and you just live in it," said Thomas Goldstein, a private attorney who publishes the well-read SCOTUSblog.com. "Justice O'Connor, having been the most powerful woman in the world, handed the keys to him on her way out the door and said, 'Have fun.' And he took up that invitation."
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