The United States Supreme Court is set to hear a challenges to California State Proposition 8 and the Federal Defense of Marriage Act – both of which restrict the definition of marriage as a union between one woman and one man – toward the end of March, 2013, with a decision likely near the end of June. (Shameless plug – perhaps during General Assembly 2013.) The Supreme Court opinion is certain to have far-reaching effect on the issus of Marriage Equality in the United States. (Read about the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court here, and why its opinions are implemented as law here.) While waiting for the Supreme Court decision, advocates of Same Sex Marriage continue to speak out. The latest to join them? Well, read on...– Ed.

Republicans Sign Brief in Support of Gay Marriage

By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG, New York Times, Published: February 25, 2013

Dozens of prominent Republicans — including top advisers to former President George W. Bush, four former governors and two members of Congress — have signed a legal brief arguing that gay people have a constitutional right to marry, a position that amounts to a direct challenge to Speaker John A. Boehner and reflects the civil war in the party since the November election. The document will be submitted this week to the United States Supreme Court in support of a suit seeking to strike down Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative barring same-sex marriage, and all similar bans. The court will hear back-to-back arguments next month in that case and another pivotal gay rights case that challenges the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act. (Read full story in the New York Times here.)

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