US supreme court weighs same-sex marriage

The US Supreme Court started hearing Tuesday a petition that could lead to legalising same-sex marriage in the entire country. Or leave the law untouched, as it is now. Yashwant Raj reports.

Updated on: Mar 26, 2013, 23:23:36 IST

Hindustan Times | By Anonymous, Washington

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The US Supreme Court started hearing Tuesday a petition that could lead to legalising same-sex marriage in the entire country. Or leave the law untouched, as it is now.

Either way, it promises to be a historic case with the country tuned in. People started queueing up outside the court days ago to be able to get a seat in the galleries.

Nine states and the District of Columbia (Washington DC) allow same-sex marriage. California is not among them - and the case before the court comes from that state.

California voted in 2008 to disallow gay and lesbians from marrying in that state. The vote - called Proposition 8 - was struck down by higher courts.

And now it's with the Supreme Court. Supporters of same-sex marriage argue it's guaranteed equal protection by the constitution. Opponents say the constitution is quiet on this issue. And the court should not interfere.

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