Today Is One Of The Most Important On The Road To Full 50-State Marriage Equality

Today, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals is hearing cases from three Southern states, and the U.S. Supreme court will again have the chance to pick a marriage case.

In two very different parts of America, some of the most powerful judges and justices will meet to make decisions that will affect every same-sex couple, and in a way, every American, now, and for the rest of time.

At 10:00 AM CST in New Orleans, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear from attorneys in marriage cases from three states: Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.

And in Washington, D.C., at the U.S. Supreme court, all nine justices will be effectively sequestered in a closed-door room and will once again decide whether or not to take up the issue of same-sex marriage. They will have before them this time five cases: Michigan’s DeBoer v. Snyder, Kentucky’s Bourke v. Beshear, Ohio’s Obergefell v. Hodges, Tennessee’s Tanco v. Haslam, and in an unusual move, Louisiana’s Robicheaux v. Caldwell.

While many were surprised in October when the Court did not accept any same-sex marriage cases for review, the landscape changed after the 6th circuit became the only appellate court to rule a state has the right to discriminate against same-sex couples, causing dissent among the appeals courts. That’s often when the Supreme Court steps in.

36 states and Washington, D.C. have now expanded the institution of marriage to include same-sex couples. The question before the Supreme Court will be if states have the right to discriminate against them.

Today you can follow the developments here at NCRM, and on Twitter with the Hashtag #5thCircuit, and #SCOTUS. 

Chris Johnson also has an excellent overview up at the Washington Blade.

 

Image via Twitter