Forget Everything Else: Today Is Probably Gay Marriage Day
Yes, we’ll be covering other news today at The Scoop. But honestly: Today is almost certainly Gay Marriage Day at the Supreme Court. One way or another, history of some sort seems likely to be made. So while we’ll definitely do our usual shtick like bringing you news of what lists show Philadelphia to be a horrible/wonderful place to live, find viral videos featuring Philadelphia characters, and check in on the love life of Bradley Cooper, the truth is this: Thirty years from now you won’t remember any of that stuff. What the court does today regarding gay marriage? You’ll remember. You might even tell your grandchildren.
It is usually impossible to say when the Supreme Court will announce any particular decision. There is one exception: On the last day of the term, when the court takes action on every remaining case, the process of elimination supplies the answer.
The last day of the term is Wednesday. The court has yet to issue decisions in two momentous cases on same-sex marriage.
Those facts in combination mean that shortly after 10 a.m. the justices will announce their rulings on challenges to two laws that define marriage to include only unions of a man and a woman.
It doesn’t matter that Kurt Lee and Shaun Meoak were married in San Francisco a year ago. They still get asked awkward questions like, “When gay marriage is legal again, are you going to have a ‘real’ wedding?”
More than 200 people went to their ceremony on Aug. 4, 2012. Family flew in from Michigan and even Europe. A close friend officiated. When the couple registered in California as domestic partners, because that was the only legal option available, they combined their last names into a single new one — Oaklee.
The Oaklees are like a lot of couples in the state who will be waiting to hear from the Supreme Court this morning. They are anxious. Maybe their patience is exhausted. They’re looking for “a sense of legitimacy in the eyes of others.”
Even if the nine justices who will rule in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Proposition 8 case, give their blessing today, it’s unclear how long the Oaklees might have to wait before their marriage is recognized. It’s obvious, though, the Oaklees are growing tired of waiting.
More to come.
