The Supremes Are Going Gay

Not those Supremes, silly, the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has returned from summer vacation--I hear they all went to Aruba and tossed those black robes on the sand and went skinny dipping--and they will begin considering a number of issues near and dear to the LGBT community, and it's allies', hearts. Some of these cases could have a major influence on the country and, well, it's about effing time, no?

The Court meets this week to decide which cases it will hear, and three big deal LGBT cases are on that agenda, with the first being the decision of the Ninth Circuit court of appeals to uphold Judge Vaughn Walker's 2010 ruling that struck down California's Prop H8, which banned marriage for same-sex couples.

The second is a decision from the U.S. District Court in New York striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act [DOMA], which prohibits the federal government from recognizing the legal marriages of same-sex couples for any purpose. The Court will also review three other challenges to DOMA, and those cases will be on the Court's conference calendar in the coming weeks.

The third is another Ninth Circuit ruling, which said that an Arizona law that stripped domestic partner benefits from state employees is very likely unconstitutional, so Governor Jan Brewer cannot enforce the ban on benefits until the federal courts issue a final decision in the case.

What could happen is the big secret. The justices' conference on which cases they will hear is secret, and we never learn how the justices vote, unless one of them chooses to write a public dissent expressing disagreement with the Court's decision to turn down a case, so we won't know which cases they'll hear until their issue their verdict.

So, let’s say that, on October 1st, the Court denies review of the Prop 8 case, is it over, and can same-sex couples once again marry in California? Well, that would be a grand, big-time, flag-waving, parade-starting, boa-wearing, 'Yes'; with a caveat.

Even though the Court may deny a review of the Prop 8 case, it will go back to the court of appeals, and their original decision will not go into effect until it issues a "mandate," a document saying the case is finally over, which could happen within days of the SCOTUS decision.

So, it could happen this week--which would be grand and about damn time--or it could happen later in the year. But something is going to happen, and I'm leaning toward good news.

UPDATE:

The Supreme Court released its list today of cases they will take up this session and none of the DOMA cases nor the federal Prop 8 case is on the list. That doesn't mean they won't hear the cases, in fact, they could release their decisions on whether to hear the cases or not next week, or perhaps later in the term.

Fingers crossed. 

source