US Supreme Court To Rule on GAY Marriage

THE Supreme Court entered the debate over gay marriage, saying it would hear cases challenging a federal law and a California law that limit the rights of same-sex couples.

The move Friday means a defining legal moment is set to come by next June, after a year in which gay marriage assumed even greater prominence in the national debate and social acceptance widened.

President Barack Obama in May said he personally believed gay couples should have the right to wed, becoming the first sitting President to take that stand.

In November, Maine, Maryland and Washington became the first states to approve gay marriage at the ballot box, joining six other states and the District of Columbia that had authorised the unions through legislative acts and judicial rulings.

The decision to take both cases -- including one involving California's voter-approved ban on gay marriage -- suggests the justices are ready to tackle the issue fully...


[link to www.theaustralian.com.au]