Case 2:13-cv-00395-AWA-LRL Document 135 Filed 02/13/14 Page 23 of 41 PageID# 1065
through the exercise of sacred, personal choices—choices, like the choices made by every other citizen, that must be free from unwarranted government interference.
c.
Virginia's Marriage Laws are subject to strict scrutiny
In general, state regulations are presumed valid, and are upheld, when the regulations are rationally related to a legitimate state interest. Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702, 728 (1997).
However, strict scrutiny is imposed as substantive due process protection to "those
fundamental rights and liberties which are, objectively, deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition, and implicit in the concept of ordered liberty, such that neither liberty nor justice would
exist if they were sacrificed." Id. at 720-21 (quoting Moore v. City ofE. Cleveland, Ohio, 431 U.S. 494, 503 (1977) (plurality opinion); Palko v. Connecticut, 302 U.S. 319, 325 (1937))
(internal quotation marks and citations omitted). Under strict scrutiny, the regulations pass constitutional muster only if they are narrowly
tailored to serve a compelling state interest. Id. at 721; see also Zablocki, 434 U.S. at 388
(striking down a requirement that non-custodial parents paying child support seek court approval before marrying); Boddie, 401 U.S. at 380-81 (holding that a divorce could not be denied to an indigent person who was unable to afford the filing fees). Because marriage is a fundamental right, therefore, Virginia's Marriage Laws cannot be
upheld unless they are justified by "compelling state interests" and are "narrowly drawn to
express only those interests." Carey, 431 U.S. at 686; accord Zablocki, 434 U.S. at 388 ("When a statutory classification significantly interferes with the exercise of a fundamental right, it
cannot be upheld unless it is supported by sufficiently important state interests and is closely tailored to effectuate only those interests.").
23