While liberal reaction to the Supreme Court’s historic decision on gay marriage was universally positive, reaction from the right was mixed, with outright support in some camps, qualified support in others, and—considering that young Republicans mostly support marriage rights—opposition that was largely couched in concerns about court overreach or religious liberty.
Gay conservative and author Guy Benson kept it simple:
Commentary’s Noah C. Rothman saw a political victory of sorts for Republicans:
The Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin suggested social conservatives can tend to more important matters:
Conservative radio host Tammy Bruce celebrated the decision but called for tolerance for those who didn’t:
National Review’s Charles C.W. Cooke supports same-sex marriage but quibbled with the legal reasoning behind the court’s decision and is not a fan of Kennedy’s majority opinion:
Daniel Horowitz, of the Conservative Review, was similarly unimpressed with Kennedy:
Ben Shapiro, Breitbart editor and author of The People vs. Barack Obama, is pissed at the court:
Regardless of whether they support or oppose gay marriage personally, more than a few conservative pundits raised the issue of religious liberty and whether churches will be required to perform gay weddings. Justice Kennedy’s comment from his opinion that gay-marriage opponents “may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned” leaves very few optimistic.
Ed Morrissey of Hot Air:
Breitbart’s John Nolte predicted a religious-freedom battle years ago (and today is worried about the slippery slope toward polygamy):
RedState’s Dan McLaughlin supports Roberts’ dissent, highlighting the religious-freedom issue, here:
Read more of Slate’s coverage of same-sex marriage at the Supreme Court.
