The Supreme Court's decision will affect the entire nation and decide the constitutionality of same sex marriage.
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided to take a landmark case concerning the constitutionality of gay marriage for the nation. A ruling by the Supreme Court will either allow same-sex marriage in all 50 states, or declare it unconstitutional nationwide. The High Court will make a decision by June of this year.
The nine justices did not agree to take on cases regarding gay marriage the past year, and the lack of action in October was a particular turning point for gay marriage rights. The court's decision to remain silent resulted in five states striking down their gay marriage bans.
This past year has seen the number of states allowing gay marriage triple. Currently 36 states and the District of Columbia allow same sex unions. An estimated 70 percent of the U.S. population lives in these states. One circuit court, however, defied the trend this past year of legalizing gay marriage. The Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati, lead by a panel of three judges, upheld the bans against gay marriage in a surprising decision. This circuit includes the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, Michigan, and Ohio.
Judge Jeffrey S. Sutton, a member of the panel, stated that the people, not the courts, should decide the issue of gay marriage. The Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeals made by opponents of the upheld ban.
A court document shows that the Supreme Court will revolve the case around the extent of the fourteenth amendment.
"Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?" and "Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?" are the two questions that the court limited the case to. All briefs are to be filed before 17 April, and the court will allot 90 minutes for oral argument for the first question and one hour for the second.
