Listen to this articleThe U.S. Supreme Court will discuss whether to hear the federal constitutional challenge to California’s Proposition 8 at its private conference, Nov. 30. The court will also consider whether it will hear one or more challenges to the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. Both the Prop. 8 case and the DOMA cases had previously been distributed for discussion at the Nov. 20 conference.
The updated timeline suggests that the court will announce a decision on the cases by Dec. 3, said Adam Umhoefer, executive director of the American Foundation for Equal Rights. However, there is no deadline by which the court must act, and the judges could hold the case for consideration at a future conference, he said.
“With marriage equality laws on the books in nine states and the District of Columbia, and with at least 16 national polls confirming that a majority of Americans believe gay and lesbian couples should be able to marry, the momentum toward marriage equality has never been greater,” Umhoefer said.
