Dancing Around The Issue

Today’s Supreme Court is a pro at dancing around the issues to avoid having to make hard decisions.

Supreme Court dodges gay marriage, allowing weddings in five states
Reuters
By Lawrence Hurley
Mon Oct 6, 2014

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to decide once and for all whether states can ban gay marriage, a surprise move that will allow gay men and women to marry in five states where same-sex weddings were previously forbidden.

By rejecting appeals in cases involving Virginia, Oklahoma, Utah, Wisconsin and Indiana, the court left intact lower-court rulings that had struck down the bans in those states. But the high court's action means there will be no imminent national ruling on the issue, with litigation in states where gay marriage is still banned likely to continue.
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Other states under the jurisdiction of appeals courts that have struck down the bans will also be affected by the Supreme Court's decision, meaning the number of states with gay marriage is likely to quickly jump from 19 to 30. The other states would be North Carolina, West Virginia, South Carolina, Wyoming, Kansas and Colorado.

But at the same time by not hearing the cases the message is strong to the other courts,

The issue could still return to the court, but the message sent by the court in declining to hear the matter would be a boost to gay marriage advocates involved in similar litigation in states that still have bans on the books.

As a result the justices do not have to hear the cases and go on record with their verdict. So the Supreme Court did a quick two-step around the issue.