The First Amendment was Justice Kennedy's first priority

But language in some of his most controversial opinions shows not a desire for one side’s total victory as for both side’s friendly accommodation of one another.

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In Obergefell, Justice Kennedy took care to recognize that “religions, and those who adhere to religious doctrines, may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned.”

In Masterpiece Cakeshop, Justice Kennedy followed through on this, writing, “To describe a man’s faith as ‘one of the most despicable pieces of rhetoric that people can use’ is to disparage his religion in at least two distinct ways: by describing it as despicable, and also by characterizing it as merely rhetorical—something insubstantial and even insincere.”

This sounds not so much like legal argumentation as like a plea that combatants in the culture war should show respect — even friendship — for each other.

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