Will Clarence Thomas Be A Swing Vote On Gay Marriage?

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas

The Reason Foundation, a libertarian group, argues that the conservative Republican jurist may surprise folks: "Later this month, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in United States v. Windsor, the case arising from the legal challenge to Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, which forbids the federal government from recognizing same-sex unions that are lawful under state law."

Is DOMA a valid exercise of federal power or does it violate the U.S. Constitution?: "Among the scholars who signed on to the brief [argues that it's an unconstitutional use of federal power] is Georgetown law professor Randy Barnett, one of the legal architects behind last year’s Obamacare challenge and also the losing lead attorney in the 2005 medical marijuana case Gonzales v. Raich. Justice Clarence Thomas accepted Barnett’s theories on the limits to federal power in both those cases and has also cited Barnett’s work in other opinions. But just as important, Thomas has a tendency to break with the Supreme Court’s conservative bloc when federalism principles are at stake in a case that is otherwise seen to advance a liberal political agenda — which is basically the Defense of Marriage Act controversy in a nutshell."