The Supreme Court announced today that it won't hear cases from about a half a dozen states that overturned bans on same-sex marriage, which, The Washington Post says, clears the way for same-sex marriage in Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma, Indiana and Wisconsin. Marriages can take place in these states immediately, and according to The Post, could expand to other states and could bring to 30 the number of states where gays can marry.
Many court observers had thought the Court would take up the cases and weigh in on this evolving debate. That the Court didn't has left many wondering why. It question will eventually land before them.
Earlier this year, Public Religion Research Institute released the results of it study A Shifting Landscape: A Decade of Change in American Attitudes about Same-Sex Marriage and LGBT Issues that traces the surprising rapid acceptance of same-sex marriage, even among us religious folks:
In 2003, all major religious groups opposed same-sex marriage, with the exception of the religiously unaffiliated. Today, there are major religious groups on both sides of the issue. Religiously unaffiliated Americans (73%), white mainline Protestants (62%), white Catholics (58%), and Hispanic Catholics (56%) all favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. A majority (83%) of Jewish Americans also favor legalizing same-sex marriage. Hispanic Protestants are divided; 46% favor allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally marry and 49% oppose. By contrast, nearly 7-in-10 (69%) white evangelical Protestants and nearly 6-in-10 (59%) black Protestants oppose same-sex marriage. Only 27% of white evangelical Protestants and 35% of black Protestants support same-sex marriage.
