Case Number: 94-1039
Case Name: Romer v. Evans
Anti-Discrimination Versus Amendment Two: Romer v. Evans
Facts of the Case Court case Romer v. Evans took place in 1996 with a ruling from the Supreme Court on the subject of homosexuality. A conservative group calling itself Colorado for Family Values successfully countered the installation of anti-discrimination laws by proposing Amendment two. CLIP, or Colorado Legal Initiatives Project, retaliated with a complaint that halted the Amendment two from taking effect. Colorado's state judge ruled the amendment unconstitutional in the state supreme court and later the state appealed to the Supreme Court. The outcome would decide whether the amendment against anti-discrimination was constitutional or unconstitutional and…show more content… Anthony Kennedy (1996), the majority opinion, wrote, "...it deprives gays and lesbians of even of the protection of general laws and polices.."(n.p.), going on to explain the flaws of the Amendment two. In favor of Kennedy, the ruling came to 6-3 with the dissenting opinion only convincing two of the justices. Antonin Scalia wrote on and defended the right Colorado held to instate the Amendment two. John W. Johnson (2001) described Scalia's opinion as "a scathingly sarcastic dissent" (p. 799) that attempted to justify an unconstitutional amendment.
Outcome of the Case Because of the winning argument, the case went to Evans and his statements. The homosexual population had won one of the first major cases and turned the tide on prejudice. Romer v. Evans successfully supported the growth of acceptance slowly spreading through the nation. The Court and the government agreed that such a statement as Amendment two was unconstitutional and that they had no interest in harming a "politically unpopular group"(Romer v. Evans, 1996).
Response to Court