The Federalist Society  Perry v. Schwarzenegger: Is Traditional
Marriage Unconstitutional?  Engage Volume 12, Issue 3, November
2011  December 19, 2011  George W. Dent  Perry v.
Schwarzenegger: Is Traditional Marriage Unconstitutional?Note
from the Editor:  This article and the article in this issue by
Mark Strasser provide different perspectives on the main issue
at stake in the Ninth Circuit case Perry v. Schwarzenegger,
namely whether California Proposition 8, an amendment to the
state’s constitution providing that a marriage is a union
between a man and a woman, violates the U.S. Constitution. We
hope that publishing these articles helps contribute to the
debate over this and other challenges to state constitutional
provisions. The Federalist Society takes no position on
particular legal or public policy initiatives. We welcome your
responses to these articles; to join the debate, you can e-mail
us at info@fed-soc.org.   Until 2000 the legal institution of
civil marriage was understood to be available onl