Supreme Court May Hear Same-Sex Marriage Cases Before Term's End

Chances improved Tuesday that the U.S. Supreme Court could take up the issue of same-sex marriage before the end of the current term.

On his SCOTUS Blog, journalist Lyle Denniston wrote that the the state of Louisiana is urging the court to promptly review a federal judge’s decision upholding its ban on same-sex marriages.

Coupled with a request by two Hazel Park nurses asking the high court to review a 6th Circuit Court of Appeals upholding Michigan’s ban on same-sex marriages, the Court has two cases nearly ready for early consideration.

Both Michigan and Louisiana want their bans on same-sex marriage upheld.

Denniston, who has covered the Supreme Court for 56 of his 66 years as a journalist, concluded the post by saying the Court may choose not to wade into the debate until more cases make their way through state and federal courts.

Related:

• 6th Circuit Could Be Pivotal in Gay Marriage Debate
• 6th Circuit’s Marathon Gay Marriage Hearing Signals Historic Shift

However, he said the tone of Louisiana’s request for review was set on the opening page with a reference to “a spiraling national controversy that has already nullified the marriages laws of over twenty states and spawned a four-to-one circuit split.”

The three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dealt gay marriage advocates a defeat, the first in a string of appeals court victories that struck down bans on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional.

Rulings earlier this year by the 4th, 7th, 9th and 10th circuits struck down same-sex marriage bans from Alaska to Florida.

» Read Denniston’s full blog here.

Tell Us:

• Do you think same-sex couples should be allowed to marry in Michigan? Has your opinion changed as the challenge to the state’s voter-backed ban on same-sex marriage has made its way through the courts?