Same Sex Marriages Ban: Supreme Court Review

The Supreme Court of US is about to deliver a landmark decision on a socio-legal as well as political issue – same-sex marriages ban and adhesive Constitutional Right – Does the 14th Amendment, which guarantees “equal protection” and “due process” of law, forbid states from treating gay couples differently than heterosexual ones?

The Supreme Court announced that it will review the federal appeals court ruling that upheld the same-sex marriage bans in four states namely Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee. Edie Windsor, the plaintiff whose challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act led the Supreme Court in 2013 to bar the U.S. government from treating same-sex marriages differently from others, was to be the first signature on the Human Rights Campaign. The nine justices are likely to hear the arguments in April and a ruling on this matter should come around June. The court said it would specifically address two questions:

• Does the 14th Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? And
• Does the 14th Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?

Overall, there is a disagreement between the federal appeals courts on whether states’ same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court is the only judicial body with the authority to decide as to what is right and this remains awaited until June with most probability.