The Supreme Court's decision to
sit out the legal battle over same-sex marriage will — for now, at least —
leave the future of laws prohibiting gays and lesbians from marrying in the
hands of lower state and federal court judges. But it also almost certainly means
the couples challenging those laws are more likely to win in the end.
The
court said Monday it would not hear appeals from five states whose same-sex
marriage bans had been invalidated by lower federal courts. The decision,
issued without explanation, will lead to recognition of gay marriages in 11
more states. It also allows an avalanche of legal challenges to the remaining
bans to keep going forward in state and federal courts, where gay and lesbian
couples have overwhelmingly prevailed.
The
court's decision leaves unchanged 20 state laws blocking same-sex unions. Each
is already under legal attack, facing challenges in state or federal court, and
sometimes both. Challenges to marriage bans already have reached a handful of
state appeals courts and in the federal Fifth, Sixth, Ninth and Eleventh
circuit appeals courts.
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