BY BTL STAFF
WASHINGTON D.C. – The Supreme Court of the United States has scheduled oral arguments to determine the constitutionality of marriage equality.
Legal teams from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee will present their arguments before the high court on April 28. This landmark decision will determine if hundreds of Michigan families will be recognized by state law and no longer be a legal stranger to their spouse and/or their children.
Thirty-six states and the District of Columbia currently allow LGBT individuals the right to marry — a huge increase from the less than 10 when SCOTUS invalidated the Defense of Marriage Act in 2013.
In November, the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals became the first federal court in over a year to rule against marriage equality – determining the states' bans on same-sex marriage constitutional. That decision created an appellate court split, which was a powerful factor in SCOTUS' decision to hear the case.
SCOTUS has asked the legal teams to answer two questions: Does the 14th Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex, and does the 14th 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?
Only two of the plantiffs' attorneys out of a pool of 36 will address the two questions placed before them. They will have 45 minutes per question. As of now, there has been no determination as to who will present the arguments.
The arguments will provide the first clues as to how SCOTUS will rule on marriage equality. A decision is expected to be issued by late June.
SCOTUS Sets Date For Same-Sex Marriage Hearing
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