With personal Presidential statements and public polling about same-sex marriage dominating the news last week, we figured it was a good moment to check in on the legal status of same-sex marriage and other gay rights issues. The New York Times obliges with a story, "Same-Sex Marriage Activists Look to Law," about the cases wending their way through the system. SCOTUSblog's Lyle Denniston analyzes the President's ABC interview in excruciating detail for signals about the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Prop 8:
Because a victory over Proposition 8 would by implication undermine DOMA’s restriction, too, could that be what the President really was thinking about? Or, given all that he said about this being an issue on the local and state level, and about not wanting it to be a national issue, it is very likely that — to the President — there is a distinct difference between striking down a federal law partly on grounds that it interferes with state powers, and striking down a state law passed by a legislature exercising the very state prerogative that the President has defended.
At Volokh Conspiracy, Jonathan Adler says that the President’s position can't be reconciled with his Administration’s stance on the constitutionality of DOMA, but Dale Carpenter applauds, while doubting Jon Rauch's view that the President's position might influence the Supreme Court's positive consideration of DOMA and Prop 8.
Meanwhile, back in the states, things are going every which way. The Guardian has a nifty interactive graphic.
