Supreme Court Justice Officiates Her First Gay Wedding—Is a Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage Far Behind?
Justice Elena Kagan presided over some very special nuptials last weekend. The associate justice of the Supreme Court officiated the wedding of her former law clerk and his groom on Sunday in Maryland.
This was Kagan's first time officiating a gay wedding, but she isn't the first of America's top judges to perform a same-sex marriage. Former Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg have presided over gay weddings.
The significance here lies in the timing. The court is deciding later this month whether or not to hear one of seven appeals—the issue has landed in many more courts, and the Supreme Court's ruling would help clear up, one way or another, a patchwork of state laws and rulings that have emerged. Even the experts over at SCOTUSblog seem unclear on whether this is the year that judges will hear one of the country's most divisive social debates.
Meanwhile, the vows of Kagan's former clerk, Mitchell Reich, and Patrick William Pearsall—both Ivy League–educated lawyers who work for the federal government—are a strong legal bond in Maryland. Following a ballot initiative in 2012, it became the first state south of the Mason-Dixon Line to legalize gay marriage. Pollsters at Gallup estimate 55 percent of Americans believe gay marriage should be recognized as legal.
Related stories on TakePart:
• This State Won't Give a Foster Child to Gay Couple Who Raised 5 Kids
• Wedding Bells Are Ringing in New Mexico, but Mostly for Gay Couples
• Beauty Queen Comes Out as Lesbian in the Most Romantic Way
Original article from TakePart
