Gays, Supreme Court | featured news

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.

Advocates of same-sex marriage won a major legal victory — and greatly increased the odds of a U.S. Supreme Court showdown on the subject — as an appeals court ruled that the government could not deny tax, Social Security and other federal benefits to gay couples who were legally married in their home states.

A federal court rules that California's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, potentially clearing the way for the case to be heard by the Supreme Court.

In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court throws out a lawsuit against Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church from Kansas. The court says the church has a 1st Amendment right to state its vitriolic message at funerals even though it 'is certainly hurtful and its contribution to public discourse may be negligible.'WASHINGTON — Anti-gay protesters who picket the funerals of U.S.

The Supreme Court on Friday denied a request to lift the Pentagon's ban that prevents openly gay men and women from serving in the military, rejecting a request by a gay rights group.

Her confirmation all but assured, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan neared the end of a final grueling day of Senate questioning Wednesday, fielding GOP challenges on abortion, gays in the military and other divisive issues while sidestepping Democrats' invitations to blast conservative decisions by the court she's hoping to join.

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan says she continues to oppose the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy that bans openly gay and lesbian soldiers from military service.

A university can legally deny recognition to a Christian student group that bars gays and nonbelievers, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday in a case that pitted anti-discrimination principles against religious freedom.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday indefinitely blocked cameras from covering the high-profile federal court trial on the constitutionality ...