“The Supreme Court turned away appeals Monday from five states seeking to prohibit same-sex marriages, paving the way for an immediate expansion of gay and lesbian unions …, but the justices stopped short of resolving for now the question of same-sex marriage nationwide. The court’s order immediately ends delays on marriage in those states. Couples in six other states … should be able to get married in short order. Those states would be bound by the same appellate rulings that were put on hold pending the Supreme Court’s review.” (ABC News)
I’m surprised. When SC took these cases, I thought it meant the conservative justices were fixing to sanctify bigotry’s “one man, one woman” mantra, but it appears they punted instead. After all, the Equal Protection Clause only holds equal and protects whatever Tony Scalia and his pals want it to. Maybe they’re worried about next month’s elections.
This is a great big deal, because this Court is allowing gay marriage to become entrenched in society, making it all but impossible for a future Court to to tear it down. Roe v. Wade is an excellent example of how this works. Conservative justices, like other conservatives, hate abortion but only nip at it around the edges and are unwilling to reverse a popular social policy that’s been in place for 44 years now. With today’s non-decision, as wishy-washing as it is, gay marriage may have won for all time.
