US Supreme Court equal marriage decision expected on Monday, as no decision today

The US Supreme Court failed to announce its opinion on two key equal marriage cases today, and is now expected to do so on Monday, which is the last expected date to make a decision.

The Supreme Court does not announce which decisions it will announce ahead of time.

Monday 24th June still remains on the calendar as a day on which the court could announce a decision. It could however, add extra decision days after Monday.

On the first day of hearings in March, the court heard arguments around Proposition 8, the state of California’s ban on equal marriage. Then the justices questioned the meaning of marriage, and challenged arguments for the ban. 

On the second day of hearings, several of the Supreme Court Justices raised concerns around DOMA, and some took that as a sign that there may be a narrow majority who will strike it down.

There are a number of possible outcomes, which range from effectively allowing equal marriage across the US, to letting Proposition 8 and DOMA stand.

PinkNews.co.uk has compiled a short history of Proposition 8 legislation and a breakdown of the six possible outcomes the court might make.

As the law is fluid, there is an unpredictable number of combinations of rulings in the two cases.

It is unclear which ruling the Supreme Court will make, with some arguing it is likely to strike down Prop 8, and others arguing that there is a long legal battle ahead until equal marriage is legal across the US.

More to follow.

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