The Supreme Court will take up California's ban on same-sex marriage, a case that could give the justices the chance to rule on whether gay Americans have the same constitutional right to marry as heterosexuals.
The justices said Friday they will review a ruling by a federal appeals court in California that struck down Proposition 8, the state's gay marriage ban. The San Francisco-based appeals court said the state could not take away the same-sex marriage right that had been granted by California's Supreme Court, Huffington Post reports:
"The court also will decide whether Congress can deprive legally married gay couples of federal benefits otherwise available to married people. A provision of the federal Defense of Marriage Act limits a range of health and pension benefits, as well as favorable tax treatment, to heterosexual couples."
The appeals court's ruling was made in February, and held that outlawing gay marriage, was unconstitutional. The court will also hear challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act.
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