Supreme Court to Hear Same-Sex Marriage Cases

What I thought would be announced a little over a week ago has finally been announced: The Supreme Court of the United States will hear gay marriage cases – specifically cases regarding Proposition 8 in California and the Defense of Marriage Act from 1996.

Does the U.S. Constitution Guarantee Same-Sex Marriage?

While this is the question many of us want decided, the court could actually skirt around this main by merely sticking other points in the cases. Specifically, the legal question in the Proposition 8 cases is whether or not the proposition strips same-sex couples of their right to marriage without adequate justification. The case does not assert there is a right for same-sex marriage in other states where gay marriage was never recognized.

The case the Supreme Court agreed to hear regarding the Defense of Marriage Act pertains to estate taxes specifically and has to do with taxation of same-sex couples yet not heterosexual couples.

It is easy to see how the big question of the constitutionality of same-sex marriage could be avoided. We shall see. The court’s term ends in June so arguments will likely be heard this spring and we will just have to wait for the court’s decision.