Supreme Court to consider same-sex marriage

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to finally consider the fundamental question of whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.
The court announced that in April it will review a federal appeals court ruling that upheld the same-sex marriage bans in four states. The nine justices are likely to issue a ruling on the matter around June.

When the Supreme Court in 2013 issued two major rulings regarding same-sex marriage, it sidestepped the fundamental question about the right to marry -- but it also opened the door for dozens of state and federal courts to issue rulings in favor of same-sex marriage.

• Mass wedding in Orlando on first day of legalized same-sex unions
• Appeals court upholds same-sex marriage bans in 4 states

The Supreme Court is now compelled to address the basic question of the right to marry because there is a split in the lower courts.
In September, a federal district court judge ruled in favor of a same-sex marriage ban for the first time since the Supreme Court's 2013 rulings, upholding Louisiana's marriage ban in Robicheaux v. George.
Then in November, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld same-sex marriage bans in four states (Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee), making it the first federal court of appeals to defend marriage bans.
The Supreme Court turned down a request to review the Robicheaux decision, but it will review the Sixth Circuit ruling.
After the several recent court rulings striking down marriage bans, same-sex marriage is now illegal in just 14 states. Florida's ban on same-sex marriage ended earlier this month.
The court has a history of trailing public sentiment amid cultural shifts. It wasn't until 1972 in Eisenstadt v. Baird that the Supreme Court ruled unmarried women had the right to access birth control -- 12 years after the FDA approved the birth control pill. And by the time the court issued its landmark Loving v. Virginia ruling in 1967, only 16 states still prohibited interracial marriage.