The United States Supreme Court has delayed their decision on whether to take up Hollingsworth vs. Perry, the court case that was filed in response to the passing of Proposition 8 in California. Many states are watching closely to see what the Supreme Court is going to do this month.
Originally they were going to decide if the Court would take Hollingsworth vs. Perry on November 20th, but they have now delayed it by another ten days.
This decision is not for the case itself, but for deciding whether or not they’re going to review the issue. As it stands right now, Proposition 8 was struck down by the US Court of Appeals.
Should the SCOTUS choose not to review the case, the appeals decision will be considered somewhat permanent. In effect, it would be the “final” decision until a day should come that SCOTUS does decide to pick up the case. However, it won’t federalize the decision. The appeals court gave the justices a roadmap to essentially punt the issue and let it only apply to California.
So if they don’t review the case and kick it back to the appeals court, then gay marriage will be legal in California but everyone else will still have to do it on their own.
However, if the Supreme Court does take the case, that may provide the opportunity to settle the issue of gay marriage once and for all. With voters going pro-marriage equality in four states, bringing the tally up to nine right now, SCOTUS may see the evolving trends in social acceptance of gay marriage and react accordingly to essentially accelerate what they perceive as the inevitable.
Either way, we’ll know more a week after Black Friday. Keep an eye out, we’ll let you know how it goes.