Gay Marriage Likely Heading to the Supreme Court

Quote by Jerran

Since there have been no lower federal courts that have upheld other state bans in the recent wave, chances are pretty good that the supreme court won't even take up the case. That will leave the lower court decisions in place, but only in those districts where the decisions have been made. Unfortunately, that means it won't be decided on a full, national level.

By rejecting appeals in cases involving Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin and Indiana, the court left intact lower-court rulings that had struck down the bans in those states. But the high court's action means there will be no imminent national ruling on the issue, with litigation in states where gay marriage is still banned likely to continue...The court could still take a future case, but its move on Monday is likely to send a strong signal to lower court judges that rulings striking down marriage bans are consistent with the U.S. Constitution.

"If Sue loves Joe and Tom loves Joe, Sue can marry him and Tom can't," said Chief Justice Roberts. "And the difference is based upon their different sex. Why isn't that a straightforward question of sexual discrimination?"