Supreme Court Sets Date for Critical Session

In a private meeting September 24, the nine justices of the United States Supreme Court will take a first look at several cases regarding marriage equality, including California's Proposition 8, according to SCOTUSblog.

The September 24 meeting will not produce a ruling Hollingsworth v. Perry -- the federal challenge to California's voter-approved Proposition 8, which revoked marriage equality in the state -- but could result in the Supreme Court scheduling a date to hear the case.

"It is predictable, but not a certainty, that the Court will step into the heated controversy over same-sex marriage in its new Term," writes Lyle Denniston at SCOTUSblog. "That's because several federal courts have struck down a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act, passed by Congress in 1996 in an attempt to head off what the lawmakers thought was a spreading movement in the states to create an equal right for same-sex couples to wed. DOMA's Section 3 -- affecting more than 1,000 federal laws -- restricts marriage benefits or provisions in any federal statute to marriages of a man and a woman."

The court will make an initial examination not only of the Prop. 8 case but also of a similar case in Arizona regarding whether voters can revoke marriage-like rights that have been granted by a court or legislature.

Trending stories

Here's how to watch Lady Gaga at Coachella & full livestream schedule

From Z to APT: Here's who won the 'Drag Race' S17 Lip Sync Smackdown

Robert Irwin is stripping down & rocking tiny briefs in new underwear campaign

Gerald Garth is keeping people of color happy and healthy through trying times

Elon Musk uses burner accounts on X, doesn’t fact-check: report

France becomes world’s first country to enshrine abortion rights in constitution

Lady Gaga is bringing 'Gothic dreams,' queer joy to Coachella

Broadway's best raise over $1 million for LGBTQ+ and HIV causes

French Polynesia doesn’t need Pride flags to earn its place on every LGBTQ+ bucket list

Trump's orders prompt CDC to erase HIV resources

JoJo Siwa updates pronouns on 'Celebrity Big Brother UK'

Bobby Berk reveals his favorite part about being gay: 'The sex!'

Season 4 of The Switch on resilience & radical self-love returns this spring

In 'Happy Endings with Bruno,' a 'Drag Race' stud offers a massage with a message

'Survivor' star Teeny Chirichillo comes out as trans in candid new essay

Discover the power of Wellness in your life

Out and About with Karan Soni

Broadway bound: The best hotels in NYC’s Theater District for every type of traveler

Beyond Wonderland's accepting & unifying rave culture is needed more than ever

The Charles is Pacific Grove's new LGBTQ+ hotel

How climate disasters hurt mental health in young people

All 6 rogue Mississippi cops got long prison sentences in 'Goon Squad' torture of 2 Black men

Joe Biden has tied the record for most LGBTQ+ judges confirmed in federal courts

15 lesbian coming-of-age movies that will hit you right in the feels

23 brutally funny 'Hands Off' protest signs that prove the resistance is alive & hilarious

• 0
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8

The court may also examine one of the pending challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which several lower courts have recently found unconstitutional. In that case, Windsor v. United States, 83-year-old widow Edie Windsor was forced to pay $363,000 in estate taxes because the federal government did not recognize her marriage to her late wife, Thea Spyer.