The Supreme Court began its term Oct. 6 by announcing it would not take up same-sex marriage. Exactly one month later, a lower court ruling upholding four gay marriage bans makes a high court showdown inevitable
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court opened its 2014 term on Oct. 6 with a surprise announcement: It would not accept cases from any of five states whose same-sex marriage bans had been struck down by federal appeals courts.
Until Thursday's ruling came down, every federal appeals court to rule had struck down same-sex marriage bans -- in Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah, Nevada and Idaho. Those rulings in turn affected neighboring states, bringing to 32 the number of states where gays and lesbians can marry. That number soon will reach 35.
Proponents of same-sex marriage, however, are willing to predict how the high court will decide any case it considers. They expect Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court's swing vote, to come down on the side of gays and lesbians, just as he did in 1996, 2003 and 2013 in cases involving anti-gay discrimination, sodomy laws and marriage rights.
If the court upholds the bans -- an outcome considered unlikely, but not out of the question -- same-sex marriage would remain illegal in those 15 states. Then it could get complicated.