![]() ![]() That finding determines what standard the court will adopt in reviewing the law in question. While the court has no obligation to address the bigger gay rights issues raised in the cases, if it does, the justices would first have to consider whether gay people merit the same protections as some other groups that have experienced discrimination. It’s unclear how the court will rule, but conventional wisdom is that Justice Anthony Kennedy, the most moderate justice on the conservative wing of the court, will be a deciding vote. ![]() ![]() The cases will be argued on March 26 and 27. The other case before the nine-member court asks the justices to consider whether Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative that outlawed same-sex marriage, should be struck down. The Obama administration is due to weigh in by Friday, its deadline for written submissions in a case questioning the constitutionality of a central part of the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage under federal law as being between a man and a woman. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law. The underlying question is whether bans on gay marriage violate the U.S. REUTERS/Max RossiĪhead of two high-profile oral arguments in March, backers of gay rights and defenders of more traditional marriage are zeroing in on whether courts should be wary of any laws that target gay people. A gay couple hold hands during their symbolic wedding ceremony in central Rome May 21, 2005. ![]()
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