U.S. Supreme Court

You won't see these words in Kennedy's DOMA decision

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Justice Anthony M. Kennedy didn’t use the word “gay” in his majority opinion on Wednesday striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, a law that denied federal benefits to same-sex married couples.

Nor did he use the plural “gays,” the Wall Street Journal Law Blog (sub. req.) reports. Also absent: the words “lesbian” and “love.” The blog gives a hat tip to the control-F command on its keyboard.

The blog also notes some unusual words in a dissent by Justice Antonin Scalia, including “argle-bargle”—meaning a vigorous discussion or dispute.

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