by James Q. Wilson

About the author: James Q. Wilson is the author of The Moral Sense and the Collins professor of management and public policy at the University of California at Los Angeles.

Our courts, which have mishandled abortion, may be on the verge of mishandling homosexuality. As a consequence of a pending decision, we may be about to accept homosexual marriage.

Hawaii and Same-Sex Marriages

In 1993 the supreme court of Hawaii ruled that, under the equal-protection clause of that state’s constitution, any law based on distinctions of sex was suspect, and thus subject to strict judicial scrutiny. Accordingly, it reversed the denial of a marriage permit to a same-sex couple, unless the state could first demonstrate a “compelling state interest” that would justify limiting marriages to men and women. A...