Same-sex marriage: Waiting now for the Supreme Court to act

As reflected in polls and recent ballot measures, public opinion is moving in favor of same-sex marriage. Now that the US Supreme Court has agreed to take up the issue, both sides in the debate look for clear legal resolution.

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The 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA, bars federal recognition of gay unions. Several pending cases challenge the provision of DOMA which effectively bars same-sex spouses from receiving federal benefits such as Social Security survivor payments.

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A separate appeal asks the justices to decide whether federal courts were correct in striking down California's Proposition 8, the amendment that outlawed gay marriage after it had been approved by state courts.

While nine states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriage – most recently Maine, Maryland, and Washington in ballot measures last month – 37 states have upheld the traditional definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman, either through constitutional amendments or state statutes.

Both sides in the debate are alert to the importance of this next legal step involving the US Supreme Court.

"The U.S. Supreme Court's decision to hear these cases is a significant moment for our nation," Roman Catholic Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco said in a statement. "I pray the Court will affirm the fact that the institution of marriage, which is as old as humanity and written in our very nature, is the union of one man and one woman.”

Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign, says, “We've come too far to give up now.”

“Justice is on our side and we won’t stop until equality reaches every corner of our vast country,” Mr. Griffin said in a statement.

Meanwhile, following a three-day waiting period after county officials began issuing marriage licenses in Washington State Thursday, members of the clergy and other authorized officials will begin conducting same-sex weddings there on Sunday.

In Olympia, Washington, Tina Roose and Teresa Guajardo have reserved the state Capitol rotunda for a pre-Christmas wedding ceremony Dec. 15.

As for those who voted against same-sex marriage in her state, Ms. Roose told Reuters she hoped they would be won over "with love."

"You can only change people's attitudes one heart at a time," she said.

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