The court first needed to determine whether homosexuality was a suspect or quasi-suspect class which would entitle gays and lesbians to stricter protection. The court found that gay persons have been subjected to and stigmatized by a long history of purposeful and invidious discrimination.
During the northern hemisphere winter solstice, the Sun's incoming rays are perpendicular to the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5 degrees south latitude. The Sun's path is the lowest above the horizon in locations north of the equator, and these regions experience the shortest day of the year.
Capricorn is also the last of the Cardinal signs, marking the date when the Sun reaches its southernmost point in the sky, the shortest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, and the first day of winter.