Proposition 8

Why did the Supreme Court agree in December to hear a major same-sex marriage case and then seem to think it had made a terrible mistake Tuesday when it came time for arguments?

As the Supreme Court justices struggled with the question of same-sex marriage this week, politicians in Congress kept handing down their own verdict. One after another, a series of lawmakers in recent days endorsed allowing gay men and lesbians to wed.

After Tuesday's historic arguments before the Supreme Court on the legality of California's gay marriage ban, the long wait began for the court's June decision.

While lawyers inside the majestic Supreme Court building argued over gay marriage Tuesday, hundreds of opponents and supporters gathered outside to dance, sing and pray – and debate the issue. For the opponents of California’s ban on gay marriage, which a federal court already had declared unconstitutional, the day was reason for near-celebration, as a cause that they said was so central to same-sex couples’ ability to enjoy what every other American can – but that they’ve been denied – had scaled to the top of the legal system.

Supreme Court justices revealed sharp and passionately held differences Tuesday as they confronted California’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriages.

The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday morning heard oral arguments in the case of Hollingsworth v. Perry, confronting Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage. Here is where you can listen to audio of the oral arguments and also read the complete transcript.

Excerpts from the arguments before the Supreme Court on Tuesday about California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage, from a transcript released by the Supreme Court:

They mostly kept their distance, these supporters and opponents of gay marriage, as they massed Tuesday in front of the Supreme Court to proclaim with signs and slogans their conflicting views about the cutting-edge question before the justices.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris and unemployed consultant Jason Wonacott both earned their way into the Supreme Court for Tuesday’s oral arguments over gay marriage. Wonacott’s way was more painful or, at least, wetter. He secured his seat in the courtroom by showing up outside four days earlier, enduring occasional snow just to hear one hour of argument about California’s Proposition 8, which bans gay marriage. “I’m gay,” Wonacott explained, “and I would like to get married someday.”

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday and Wednesday will confront two distinct gay marriage cases, which together pose some very sensitive questions. Here's a rundown.

The Supreme Court is wading into the fight over same-sex marriage at a time when public opinion is shifting rapidly in favor of permitting gay and lesbian couples to wed, but 40 states don't allow it.

People waiting to attend to gay marriage cases being heard by the U.S. Supreme Court have been undeterred by snow falling in the nation's capital.

Jean Podrasky, 48, a lesbian who wants to marry her partner, will be at Tuesday's U.S. Supreme Court hearing on Proposition 8 in seating reserved for family members and guests of Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

When the U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Tuesday and Wednesday about same-sex marriage rights, Justice Anthony Kennedy will be scrutinized for his every word, sigh and twitch.

When the Supreme Court hears a pair of cases on same-sex marriage on Tuesday and Wednesday, the justices will be working in the shadow of a 40-year-old decision on another subject entirely: Roe v. Wade, the 1973 ruling that established a constitutional right to abortion.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday and Wednesday will confront two distinct gay marriage cases, which together pose some very sensitive questions. Here’s a rundown.

Sen. Rob Portman of Ohio, a rising national star in the Republican Party, announced Thursday that he has a gay son and could no longer justify his opposition to same-sex marriage.

A boisterous crowd of 250 gay rights activists descended Saturday on the Westfield Galleria in Roseville, after a gay couple were reportedly ejected from the mall for kissing.

A group of 212 Democrats in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives signed a brief Friday urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, but the same lawmakers, including most from California, did not formally weigh in on a separate case involving Proposition 8.

The Obama administration declared Thursday that gay marriage can be a right that deserves constitutional protection, supercharging a Supreme Court battle that started with California voters and moved the president to change his mind.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris on Wednesday filed the state's amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject Proposition 8 and give gay couples the "respect and dignity to which they are entitled."

Support for same-sex marriage in California has moved beyond 60 percent, with approval from voters in virtually every category growing substantially over the past three years.

Gay marriages will remain on hold in California after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed Friday to review the legality of the state's same-sex marriage ban, Proposition 8.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday kept the political world in suspense, as justices once again made no announcement concerning California's Proposition 8 and challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

A look at key events regarding the rights of same-sex couples in California:

Shelly Bailes and Ellen Pontac moved to their Davis neighborhood in the early 1980s, and at first their neighbor rarely spoke to them.

More than two years after a federal judge in San Francisco ruled California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to decide today if it will take up the landmark gay-marriage case.

Opponents of a successful 2008 ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage failed to provide timely disclosure of contributions or donor details for nearly $900,000 in campaign funds, according to California's political watchdog agency.

Supporters of California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriage filed their long-expected petition Tuesday with the U.S. Supreme Court, hoping to overturn lower-court rulings.

A federal appeals court Tuesday refused to revisit its February ruling striking down California's ban on gay marriage, marking another in a series of legal victories for gay rights proponents and setting up a possible U.S. Supreme Court showdown.

The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday morning heard oral arguments in the case of United States v. Windsor, confronting the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prevents legally married gay couples from receiving a range of federal benefits that go to married people. Here is where you can listen to audio of the oral arguments and also read the complete transcript.