Supreme Court Clears Way for Same-Sex Marriage

By Meredith Skrzypczak, Patch editor

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for same-sex marriages to resume in California, ruling that supporters of Proposition 8 lacked standing to appeal lower court rulings that deemed the state's voter-approved measure unconstitutional.

In a 5-4 ruling, the court ruled that backers of Proposition 8—which was approved by California voters in 2008 and banned same-sex marriage—lacked legal standing to challenge a lower court ruling that found the measure unconstitutional.

"We have never before upheld the standing of a private party to defend the constitutionality of a state statute when state officials have chosen not to," according to the ruling. "We decline to do so for the first time here."

The High Court did not set a precedent that would legalize gay marriage across the country.

The U.S. Supreme Court also struck down a key portion of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, (DOMA), which bars same-sex couples who are legally married from receiving federal benefits.

"The federal statute is invalid, for no legitimate purpose overcomes the purpose and effect to disparage and injure those whom the State, by its marriage laws, sought to protect in personhood and dignity," the court said in its opinion released Wednesday. "By seeking to displace this protection and treating those persons as living in marriages less respected than others, the federal statute is in violation of the Fifth Amendment."

The U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling to strike down DOMA, enacted in 1996, means legally married same-sex couples will be able to enjoy the same rights granted to opposite-sex couples such as Social Security benefits and joint income tax filing and exemptions, according to GLAAD.org.

—Erika Maldonado and City News Service contributed to this report.