The US Supreme Court's decision to let stand lower court rulings allowing same-sex marriage in five states is a major and welcome advance for the cause of marriage equality. Now 24 states, including the District of Colombia, and shortly up to 36, will have lifted their prohibitions, with the result that nearly two-thirds of same-sex couples in the US will soon live in states where they can marry. Within hours, registry offices and liberal churches in the five states, Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, were celebrating new marriages joyfully.
The Supreme Court’s decision not to hear challenges to appeals was not so much about same-sex marriage, as about who should deciide, the states or the federal court. The justices appear to be waiting to rule on the substantive issue of same-sex marriage itself until more states have legalised it, probably next year. Several members of the court argue that it is better for the court’s authority and legitimacy to move in step with public attitudes, even if the court itself is minded to accept the principle now. It would also be more difficult politically at that stage for conservative justices to hold back the tide.
The sooner the better. As the New York Times put it yesterday: "Every day that the justices do not declare a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, a child in San Antonio feels confusion and shame that her fathers cannot get married; a woman in Atlanta is prohibited from making emergency medical decisions for her life partner; a man in Biloxi, Mississippi, is denied veteran's survivor benefits after his husband dies. The consequences of being treated as inferior under the law are real, immediate and devastating."
A majority in the US now support the right of same-sex couples to marry, compared with about a quarter in 1996. Among those younger than 30, support is at nearly 80 per cent. That new climate may also help give fair wind to next year’s referendum here, currently enjoying majority support in polls,