It is a day the country has waited for for months, and in a way, since the nation was founded over two centuries ago. Finally, same-sex couples and the institution of marriage will have their day in court.
Beginning at 10:00 AM EDT today, the United States Supreme Court will begin hearing oral arguments in cases from four states regarding marriage. For two and a half hours, and likely a bit longer, the nine justices will ask questions, listen, probe, and ultimately over the next few months, decide if “gay marriage” legally will be “marriage.”
Attorney Mary Bonauto, who was the lead counsel on the team that brought marriage equality to Massachusetts in 2004, and helped in the Supreme Court case that struck down Section 3 of DOMA, will argue for the plaintiffs.
The cases are from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, which comprise the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals – the only appellate court that has upheld a state’s right to ban same-sex marriage.
LOOK:Â The Final Battle For Marriage Equality Begins – Here’s Who’s On The Front Line
Technically, the justices will be hearing arguments based on two questions:
Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex?
Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?
But it’s clear the arguments will wade into far more personal, humanistic, and religious territory.
Perhaps this is a good time to remember that up until eleven years ago, marriage between same-sex couples was either illegal or simply not possible. After June of 2013, when the Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, brave couples – ultimately from every state in the union that had not already extended the institution of marriage to same-sex couples – began filing lawsuits.
And as of now, those couples have been awarded with well over 60 state and federal court decisions in their favor.Â
Today, we’re all hoping for one more.
The New Civil Rights Movement will bring our readers news throughout the day and the week on today’s court arguments. We’ll post audio throughout the day today so you can hear the oral arguments. We’ll also publish photos and video from outside the court, and we’ll bring you analysis as well.
Â
Image: Plaintiffs from the cases on same-sex marriage, at the Supreme Court. Photo by Freedom to Marry, via Twitter