US Supreme Court to rule on same sex marriage bans
A decision on whether states can ban same sex marriage will be handed down before the end of June. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to determine if states can ban same sex marriage.
“It is time for our nation to take another critical step forward to ensure the fundamental equality of all Americans – no matter who they are, where they come from, or whom they love,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in response to the decision.
According to Holder, President Barack Obama’s government will call on the court to support same sex marriage legalization.
Whether states must allow same-sex marriages, and whether they must recognize such marriages that take place elsewhere in the country are the two key questions the court will decide on.
The cases brought before the court this week come from around 15 plaintiffs, who argue bans on same sex marriage undermine their fundamental rights.
Bans on same sex marriage in Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee will be in the crosshairs, though a ruling might not be handed down for months. The deadline for a decision isn’t until the end of June, though same sex marriage advocates say Friday’s decision is a step in the right direction.
“We are finally within sight of the day when same sex couples across the country will be able to share equally in the joys, protections and responsibilities of marriage,” legal director of Lambda Legal Jon Davidson told the New York Times.
The latest move by the Supreme Court comes three months after itrefused to hear appeals against the legalization of same sex marriage in five states. That decision immediately resulted in five states and the District of Columbia seeing same sex marriage locked in. That brought the total number of states were same-sex couples can marry to 24.
Since then, 12 more states have allowed same-sex marriage. The 36 states where same sex marriage is now legal account for over 70 percent of the U.S. population.
