Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson Compares Bans on Sex Changes for Kids to Bans on Interracial Marriage

BROWN Jackson: “... being drawn by the statute. That was sort of like the starting point. The question was whether it was discriminatory because it applied to both races and it wasn’t necessarily invidious or whatever. But, you know, as I read the statute here — excuse me, the case here — you know, the court starts off by saying that Virginia is now one of 16 states which prohibit and punish marriages on the basis of racial classifications. And when you look at the structure of that law, it looks in terms of — you know, you can’t do something that is inconsistent with your own characteristics. It’s sort of the same thing. So, it’s interesting to me that we now have this different argument and I wonder whether Virginia could have gotten away with what they did here by just making a classification argument the way that Tennessee is in this case.”
PRELOGAR: “Yes, I think that’s exactly right that there is absolutely a parallel between any law that says you can’t act inconsistent with a protected characteristic. And in all other —“