U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts has had a very busy day. First the high profile gun law hearing, and now this great piece of news for justice and equality.
The AP has the story.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to block the District of Columbia’s gay marriage law, freeing the city to issue its first marriage licenses to same-sex couples the following day.
Opponents of gay marriage in the nation’s capital had asked Chief Justice John Roberts to stop the city from issuing the licenses on Wednesday while they appealed. They argued that D.C. voters should have been allowed to vote on the issue. Local courts have rejected the opponents’ arguments.
“It has been the practice of the court to defer to the decisions of the courts of the District of Columbia on matters of exclusively local concern,” said Roberts, writing for the court.
He also pointed out that Congress could have voted to stop the city government from putting the law into effect and didn’t.
This still leaves room for a Prop 8-like statute to be passed by the voters. But short of that, gay and straight couples alike are free to marry. (What a concept!)
Couples are expected to begin applying for marriage licenses on Wednesday.