The law when it comes to same-sex marriage here in the U.S. is currently in a very unsettled state. This is because a definitive answer has not yet been given to a significant question: are state same-sex marriage bans allowed under the U.S. Constitution?
Of the states which have same-sex marriage bans, several of them (such as Texas) have had their ban overturned by a federal court, but have been allowed to keep the ban in place until the case completely goes through the appeals process. Consequently, the U.S. is currently a patchwork of states that allow same-sex marriage, states with a ban that has not been overturned and states with a ban that has been overturned but is still in force pending appeal.
Thus, the future of same-sex marriage law is very much in the air at the moment. One thing that could clean the situation up quite a bit is a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on the constitutionality of state same-sex marriage bans.
What the U.S. Supreme Court does later this month could determine whether we will soon be seeing a U.S. Supreme Court case in which such a definitive ruling could be made.
On Sept. 29, the court will be having a private conference in which it will be considering whether certain selected cases will be ones that it will move up to the hearing level. Among the cases scheduled for consideration at this conference are five same-sex marriage ban cases. Each of these five cases involves a state same-sex marriage ban that was overturned at both the federal district court and federal appeals court levels (though still in force pending appeal). The bans the cases involve are the bans of Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin.
In the conference, the Supreme Court will decide whether to deny the cases a hearing, grant them a hearing or delay the decision.
What do you think the Supreme Court will decide in the conference? Do you think there will be a U.S. Supreme Court case on state same-sex marriage bans in the near future?
Source: USA Today, “Supreme Court will consider hearing gay marriage cases,” Richard Wolf, Sept. 10, 2014