Professor Brownstein Comments on Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Freedom for ABA Journal

Professor Emeritus Alan Brownstein contributed several comments to an ABA Journal article on the aftermath of Obergefell v. Hodges, the U.S. Supreme Court case that recognized same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. 

Brownstein spoke to the conflict between anti-discrimination laws aimed at protecting LGBT couples and those seeking to establish an exemption from those laws based on religion.  He said that there really is not much settled law that would predict how these issues would be resolved, and that both sides need to recognize their opponents are acting on deeply held beliefs.

"I see both sides of the debate, and I take the position that urges a middle ground," said Brownstein. "Part of what's holding things up, I think, is that there are two groups of people, each of which thinks the other side is engaging in wrongful conduct. It would be helpful if people recognized that if we're going to live in a free society where there's liberty and there are rights for everybody, you have the right to act wrongly in the eyes of other people."

Professor Brownstein, a nationally recognized Constitutional Law scholar, taught Constitutional Law, Law and Religion, and Torts at UC Davis School of Law for more than 30 years. Prior to his retirement from full-time teaching, he held the Boochever and Bird Endowed Chair for the Study and Teaching of Freedom and Equality.

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