7th Circuit Court of Appeals: Indiana's Marriage Solemnization Statute Violates The Equal Protection Clause

A 3-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today in Center for Inquiry v. Marion Circuit Court Clerk that Indiana's marriage solemnization statute violates the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution because it "arbitrarily discriminates among religious and ethical beliefs." The statute lists religious officials designated by religious organizations that may solemnize marriages, but it omits equivalent officials of secular groups such as humanist societies. In an opinion authored by Judge Frank Easterbrook, he observed that the Attorney General's Office conceded during oral argument that a high priestess of the Church of Satan or the Wiccans could solemnize a marriage under Indiana law but not a Buddhist or a self-described humanist:

These examples, and the state’s willingness to recognize marriages performed by hypocrites, show that the statute violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as the First Amendment. It is irrational to allow humanists to solemnize marriages if, and only if, they falsely declare that they are a “religion.” It is absurd to give the Church of Satan, whose high priestess avows that her powers derive from having sex with Satan, and the Universal Life Church, which sells credential to anyone with a credit card, a preferred position over Buddhists, who emphasize love over peace . . . 

These examples, and the state’s willingness to recognize marriages performed by hypocrites, show that the statute violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment as well as the First Amendment. It is irrational to allow humanists to solemnize marriages if, and only if, they falsely declare that they are a “religion.”

The Court reversed the district court opinion's order and instructed it to issue an injunction allowing certified secular humanist celebrants to solemnize marriages in Indiana. The opinion observes that Indiana could rectify the problem with its current statute by simply adding notaries to the list of recognized persons that may solemnize marriages. Here's a list of who is currently authorized to solemnize marriages under Indiana law:

• A member of the clergy of a religious organization (even if the cleric does not perform religious functions for an individual congregation), such as a minister of the gospel, a priest, a bishop, an archbishop, or a rabbi 
• A judge 
• A mayor, within the mayor's county
• A clerk or a clerk-treasurer of a city or town, within a county in which the city or town is located
• A clerk of the circuit court
• The Friends Church
• The German Baptists
• The Bahai faith
• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
• An imam of a masjid (mosque)