Marriage, Gay Rights | featured news

The passage of the “marriage for all” law came after months of sometimes angry debate and a series of major protests.

We knew that the Human Right Campaign’s (HRC) red and pink logo in support of gay marriage had spread across the web at a record pace, but Facebook is now confirming that with some numbers. Facebook says that millions of people change their profile photos every day, but on Tuesday, March 26, the day the HRC asked gay marriage supporters to “paint the town red” with a new logo, 2.7 million more users changed their photo compared with the previous Tuesday. Profile photo uploads were up by 120 percent, it says. Facebook has more than a billion users.

What is at stake? The case concerns the part of the law that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman for purposes of federal benefits. Should the court strike it down, same-sex couples in the nine states that allow such unions, along with the District of Columbia, would start to receive federal benefits. Such a ruling would not require other states to allow same-sex marriage.

The Supreme Court began hearing a historic one-hour oral argument on marriage Tuesday which could lead to any one of a wide array of possible decisions -- from essentially leaving in place the traditional marriage laws now on the books in most states to proclaiming same-sex marriage a fundamental right under the United States Constitution.

Jubilant gay rights advocates called the results a historic turning point, a sign that public opinion is shifting in their direction.

A law that denies benefits to married same-sex spouses raises federalism concerns, say the law’s challengers.

Many lawmakers and staff members say the issue would probably pass if it were brought up for consideration.

Council vote to honor nuptials performed in other states sends District deeper into national debate.