Facts
Male
between the ages of 18 and 21,
along with a licensed vendor of 3.2% beer, brought action for declaratory and
injunctive relief against Oklahoma statutes prohibiting the sale of 3.2% beer
to males under the age of 21 and females under the age of 18.
A
three-judge District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma denied relief and plaintiffs appealed.
Holding
- the male plaintiff, who had attained the age of 21 after the Supreme Court had noted probable jurisdiction, did not have standing;
- the vendor did have standing;
- gender-based classifications must serve important governmental objectives and must be substantially related to the achievement of those objectives;
- statistical evidence as to incidence of drunken driving among males and females between the ages of 18 and 21 was insufficient to support the gender-based discrimination arising from the statutes in question; and
- the Twenty-First Amendment did not save the invidious gender-based discrimination from invalidation as a denial of equal protection.
