Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia have legalized same-sex marriages. The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear cases from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee over whether same-sex marriages should be legal throughout the nation or if individual states have the right to determine that marriage should only be between a man and a woman. It’s time for the question to be resolved. It’s time for equality for all Americans.
New York’s Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan appeared Easter Sunday on Face the Nation, talking mostly about the positive effect Pope Francis has had on the Church and a bit on the possible candidacy of Jeb Bush in 2016. He was also questioned about the change in public opinion about gay marriage in the US. This part of his reply caught my attention:
“Do I believe that society could be affected negatively if we tamper with the definition of marriage? Yeah. And that’s just not as a man of faith, that’s just, I’d like to think, as a loyal American — that if we tamper with that essential of human relationships – marriage — we’re sooner or later going to come to regret it.”
“A loyal American”? So, does that mean that people who support marriage equality are not loyal Americans? The Washington media in general is taken in by Cardinal Dolan’s jovial, good guy next door schtick but he’s always come across as a car salesman to me. I’m a bit surprised no one in the media picked up on his not so subtle suggestion that being against gay marriage somehow makes one a real American.
click image for animation at the Washington Post
Here’s a few photos from this morning at the Court: 
We’re down to the last week of the Supreme Court’s 2012 term and still no opinions on gay marriage, affirmative action, and voting rights. SCOTUSblog will begin live blogging Monday at 9am and expect opinions to start coming in at 10am. As I mentioned before, I’ll be doing live sketches of the action outside of the Court so check back here and at the Washington Post. 
June is going to be a busy month for the Supreme Court of the United States. The justices will be issuing decisions on affirmative action, same-sex marriage, voting rights, and gene patents over the next few weeks. Be sure to regularly check SCOTUSblog; they’ll be live-blogging this morning on the affirmative action case, Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin.
*I’ll be doing live sketches for the Washington Post the week of the same-sex marriage decisions.
Crowds line up for gay marriage cases. Photo by David Lloyd
Today the Supreme Court of the United States will hear the first of two cases for same-sex marriage. Opponents will argue that legalizing these unions will destroy the traditional definition of marriage since marriage is about “responsible procreation and child-rearing” (tell that to couples who choose not to have children or the elderly couple who have found happiness again). This is a simple question of equal rights. Why shouldn’t gays, who pay taxes and participate in society just like anyone else, be able to marry? Churches will still be able to decide which couples can be married within the church; this will not impact them. It will be interesting to see which Justices support the Separation of Church and State and which ones are still living in the pre-Loving v. Virginia era.
This week SCOTUS will hear two same-sex marriage cases this week; on Tuesday California’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriages case and on Wednesday the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).