The decision to take up the case returns the justices to a path that began in 2013, when the high court struck down parts of the Defense of Marriage Act, ruling 5-4 that key provisions of the 1996 law that banned the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages were unconstitutional.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/16/supreme-court-gay-marriage_n_6439926.html
With the addition of Florida earlier this month, the 36 states and the District of Columbia that now allow gay marriage encompass 70 percent of the U.S. population. The Supreme Court's decision to take up the case may expand marriage rights in the remaining 14 states.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/16/supreme-court-gay-marriage_n_6439926.html
Supreme Court agrees to rule on gay marriage. Richard Wolf, USA TODAY 6:12 p.m. EST January 16, 2015. The Supreme Court agreed Friday to resolve the national debate over same-sex marriage once and for all. They will hear 2 1/2 hours of oral arguments in April and issue a ruling before the current term ends in late June. VPC. The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether states can ban gay marriage.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/16/supreme-court-gay-marriage/21867355/
Meeting behind closed doors on Friday, the nine justices decided to review a 2-1 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit that upheld bans on same-sex marriage in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/16/supreme-court-gay-marriage_n_6439926.html
One high-profile ban occurred by referendum in California in 2008 after courts had previously allowed same-sex marriage. This continued across the US until the Supreme Court heard a challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-21943292
They cheered at the announcement of a constitutional right for gay marriage, which did not legally exist anywhere in the world until the turn of this century. The first legally recognized same-sex marriages in the United States took place just 11 years ago, the result of a Massachusetts state supreme court decision.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gay-marriage-and-other-major-rulings-at-the-supreme-court/2015/06/25/ef75a120-1b6d-11e5-bd7f-4611a60dd8e5_story.html
By October 2014, when the Supreme Court rejected appeals from five states that wanted to bar gay marriage, every federal appeals court that had addressed the issue had held same-sex marriage bans unconstitutional. As a result, Supreme Court justices evidently concluded they didn't need to address the issue.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/16/supreme-court-gay-marriage_n_6439926.html
A sea of cheering, rainbow flag-waving people filled the sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court to celebrate the decision. June 26, 2015 Gay rights supporters celebrate outside the Supreme Court in Washington after justices ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry, no matter where they live. Jim Bourg/Reuters. Wait 1 second to continue.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/gay-marriage-and-other-major-rulings-at-the-supreme-court/2015/06/25/ef75a120-1b6d-11e5-bd7f-4611a60dd8e5_story.html
They argued that the Supreme Court should strike down a state law, called Proposition 8, which stated that marriage is between a man and a woman. The law, approved by California voters in 2008, overrode a state Supreme Court decision that allowed for same-sex marriage.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-21943292
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed Friday to resolve the national debate over same-sex marriage once and for all. The justices will consider four cases from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee, consolidated and heard together.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/01/16/supreme-court-gay-marriage/21867355/
when did supreme court approve same sex marriage
The Supreme Court approved same sex marriage on June 26, 2015. The Supreme Court approved same-sex marriage on June 26, 2015.