Supreme Court to Rule on Same-Sex Marriage Case April 28; History of SC Gay Rights Cases

Two years ago, the Supreme Court (SC) ruled in United States v. Windsor that the Defense of Marriage Act was unconstitutional and that the federal government could not limit the definition of marriage to a heterosexual union. The decision was heralded as a landmark step towards marriage equality. Now, two years later, the SC faces an even more monumental case, one that could require all 50 states to allow gay marriage (only 37 do so currently).

On April 28, the SC will hear 2 1/2 hours of oral arguments on marriage bans in Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky. Their ruling will answer, perhaps once and for all, whether or not states have the constitutional right to ban same-sex marriage. Observers hope and expect the SC to rule in favor of marriage equality.

In honor of this upcoming court decision, I thought it'd be fitting to cover major SC cases dealing with the gay-rights movement:

Bowers v. Hardwick (1986): The SC ruled that the Due Process Clause does not give individuals to right to engage in homosexual acts in private. The decision was considered a major setback to the gay rights movement, but was also overturned in the 2003 ruling on Lawrence v. Texas.

Romer v. Evans (1996): Colorado's Amendment 2, which refused gays and lesbians protection against discrimination, was struck down as unconstitutional in a 6-3 ruling. This set the stage for later court rulings in the 2003 case Lawrence v. Texas and the 2013 case United States v. Windsor. 

Boy Scouts of America v. Dale (2000): In another setback to the gay rights movement, the SC ruled 5-4 that the Boy Scouts of America have the right to ban gays.

Lawrence v. Texas (2003): The SC struck down a sodomy law in Texas, thereby making same-sex sexual activity legal in every US state, and overturned its 1986 Bowers v. Hardwick decision.

United States v. Windsor (2013): In its first case concerning same-sex marriage, the SC ruled the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act to be unconstitutional as it violated the rights of gays and lesbians and interfered with states' rights to define marriage.

Hollingsworth v. Perry (2013): The SC ruled that proponents of California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage, did not have legal standing to appeal to a federal court to overturn a lower court's ruling that the ban was unconstitutional. The ruling allowed for gay marriage in California, but had not affect on gay marriage in other states.

It's amazing how far we've come since the Hollingsworth ruling--at the time, only 9 states allowed gay marriage. Two years later, that number has risen to 37 states. Not only that, but recent polls show that over 60 percent of American favor marriage equality. Civil rights for gay Americans was an uphill battle from the start, but changing public opinion and landmark legal victories have brought increasing equality for gay Americans. Hopefully, the SC will continue this trend to provide the gay-rights movement with its largest victory yet.