Supreme Court to Hear DOMA Arguments

In case you didn’t have your fill of guessing how the Supreme Court will rule on gay marriage, the high court will hear arguments on Wednesday about striking down the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 law that prohibited federal agencies from recognizing same-sex marriage and giving benefits to same-sex spouses. In a sign of how far public opinion has swayed on the issue, DOMA passed with overwhelming majorities in both Houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton, who has since asked the court to strike it down. On Tuesday, the court seemed to lean toward not ruling on California’s controversial Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage.