Marriage equality could become a national reality later this year after the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday ordered a hearing on the issue.
The court announced it is taking cases from four states where the wishes of same-sex couples to marry are thwarted by state laws. In its order, the court asked two questions:
1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? 2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?
The 14th Amendment grants citizens “the equal protection of the laws.” No date for oral arguments was set, but a decision is widely expected by late June.