Marriage equality in U.S. Supreme Court

SCOTUS Blog, sponsored by Bloomberg Law, will live-blog expected U.S. Supreme Court rulings in California’s Prop. 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. An editor’s note above Amy Howe’s “plain-English” analysis anticipates a ruling at 10 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday.

As a marriage equality ally and former California resident, I was disappointed when California voters were permitted to strip their fellow Californians of a basic civil right: the ability to marry the person they love and to have that union given full protection under law.

Prop. 8 was nothing more than an exercise in mob tyranny, in which the outcome was determined by a mere 5 percent of voters. I was overjoyed when, in August 2010, Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker overturned Prop. 8 on the grounds that it was unconstitutional.

I retain my interest in the case as, newly arrived in Ashland, Oregon, I support efforts to overturn a ban restricting marriage in Oregon “between one man and one woman.” The “Freedom to Marry and Religious Protection Act” would allow Oregon same-sex couples to obtain a license for civil marriage.