In a mere matter of weeks, or days, the U.S. Supreme Court will offer a ruling on the constitutionality of
California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
As prognosticators and political pundits try and probe how the justices will vote, we wanted the answer to a simpler question: Of the most likely judicial outcomes, would any prevent same-sex couples in California from the ability to get married?
The question, of course, presumes the Supreme Court will not uphold the constitutionality of Prop 8.
But should the court elect to rule in a variety of other ways, such as dismissing the case on procedural grounds (with ‘lack of standing’ a very plausible outcome), or finding the case improvidently granted, what would the net effect be for those same-sex couples seeking their nuptials?
In this segment of Reality Check, Sam Brock speaks with a constitutional scholar, San Francisco’s City Attorney and the Attorney General’s Office in search of answers.
