It's the second day of Supreme Court Hearings that could alter the face of how gay marriage is viewed by the United States Government.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments against the Defense of Marriage Act that was easily passed in 1996 by all of Congress, according to NBC News.
The Defense of Marriage Act prohibits same-sex couples, even those that are legally married, from obtaining the same tax privileges as a heterosexual married couple.
The arguments the Supreme Court will hear, center on Edie Windsor, 83, whose wife Thea Spyer died in 2009. Spyer left Windsor everything she owned upon her death. In the case of a heterosexual marriage, the surviving spouse does not have to pay any outstanding taxes for their lost loved one. Since the Windsor and Spyers were not recognized as a married couple by United States law, Spyers was billed $363,053 by the Internal Revenue Service.
Normally, in a Supreme Court hearing, Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr, would be defending the State, according to CNN.com. However, since President Barack Obama has been adamant in his support of same-sex marriage he has told the Justice Department to sit this one out. In fact, Verrilli Jr. was instructed by the Obama administration to speak against Proposition 8 in Monday’s hearing.
Wednesday’s hearing on the Defense of Marriage Act, coupled with the previous day’s hearing on Proposition 8, has given the Supreme Court the power to change the landscape on gay marriage nationwide.
However, after the Proposition 8 hearing on Tuesday, it is not clear which way the Supreme Court will lean.
According to CNN, four judges, who have been defined as being more liberal, are against Proposition 8. There of the judges who have been deemed more conservative are for it. Justice Clarence Thomas is expected to join the latter. Left in what some may see as an undesirable position in Justice Anthony Kennedy, who will most likely carry the swing vote.
According to CNN, Kennedy is questioning if the laws supporters had right to appeal in the first place. He wonders if just the prospect of gay marriage is a sufficient enough cause to say they suffered harm. However he does acknowledge that the supporters of Prop 8 are “not just any citizens.”
A Supreme Court decision is unlikely to happen before June.
