If its “fairly debatable” that the marriage statute has a rational basis, can the SJC declare that statute unconstitutional?
No. “It is only when a legislative finding cannot be supported upon any rational basis of fact that reasonably can be conceived to sustain it that a court is empowered to strike it down. … If the question is fairly debatable, courts cannot substitute their judgment for that of the Legislature.” Mass. Comm’n Against Discrimination v. Colangelo, 344 Mass. 387 (1962).
