Prop 8 Supreme Court Update, Ruling, Decision, Hearing: Justices to Hear Cases On Gay Marriage, Prop 8 And DOMA

UPDATE 12:51 p.m. EST

The Supreme Court heard the first of two cases on the issue of same-sex marriage starting at 7 a.m. on Tuesday.

The first case addressed Proposition 8, a law that bans gay marriage in California.  The lawyer defending Prop 8, Charles J. Cooper, argued that states should have the right to limit marriage to heterosexual couples because they can produce children.  He added that expanding marriage could result in harmful effects.

However, the liberal justices, along with swing voter Justice Anthony Kennedy, pressed Cooper on his defense.  Justice Kennedy stated that while the long-term effects of legalized gay marriage are unknown, he noted that the tens of thousands of children of gay and lesbian couples in California have a voice in the case as well. "They want their parent to have full recognition and legal status," Kennedy said. "The voice of those children is considerable in this case, don't you think?"

Kennedy also said he was "trying to wrestle with" whether a same-sex marriage ban should be viewed as a gender-based classification, adding that this is a "difficult question."

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, Stephen G. Breyer and Ruth Bader Ginsburg pounded Cooper for linking marriage to child-bearing.  On the contrary, conservative Justice Antonin Scalia backed Cooper's defense suggesting that it is unclear whether the children of gay couples may suffer long-term damage.

Cooper was also pressed hard on a key technical issue in the case from the justices about whether gay and lesbian Americans have the right to marry.

Tomorrow the SCOTUS will hear arguments on DOMA.  Read more about each case below.

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For the first time ever, the Supreme Court of the United States will delve into the issue of same-sex marriage this week. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments against Proposition 8 which bans gay marriage in California. Then on Wednesday, the Court will hear challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which prevents legally wed gay couples from receiving federal recognition or benefits. Later this year the high court will give a ruling that could potentially impact on the definition of families in America.

These court cases come as public opinion in support of marriage equality continues to grow.  A recent CNN poll revealed that 53 percent of Americans support gay marriage while 57 percent said that they had a family member or close friend that was gay.  In addition, a number of high profile politicians have also voiced support for gay marriage including President Obama who called it unconstitutional and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

In the Proposition 8 case, gay couples are asking the Court to strike down the law which was passed in 2008 by a voter initiative and forbids gay marriage in the state.  It amended the state constitution to ban same-sex marriages and declared the marriage licenses of 18,000 gay couples as invalid.

Challengers of the anti-gay law say that gay marriage poses no threat to the institution of marriage, while Prop 8 supporters argue that it will redefine the definition of marriage. Prop 8's defenders argue that the state has a legitimate reason for treating same-sex couples differently since only couples consisting of a man and a woman can produce children."This indisputable difference between same-sex and opposite-sex relationships demonstrates that Proposition 8 is constitutional, for the Constitution requires only that a state treat similarly situated persons similarly," they argue in their legal brief filed with the court.

On the contrary, though opponents agree that marriage is a unique, venerable, and essential institution, gay couples argue that they "simply want to be part of it."  They argue that Prop 8 cannot meet the legal test required of a law that discriminates -- having a legitimate government purpose.  Its proponents, they argue, "have never identified a single harm that they, or anyone else, would suffer as a result of allowing gay men and lesbians to marry."

Banning same-sex marriage "does not increase the likelihood that opposite-sex couples capable of procreating will decide to get married, nor would permitting gay men and lesbians to marry decrease that likelihood," they say.

Since DOMA was passed in 1996 by President Bill Clinton, it has defined marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman.  As a result, same-sex marriages are not recognized by the federal government as military spouses or social security beneficiaries.  In total, the law blocks married gay couples from receiving 1000 federal benefits. An 83-year-old woman named Edie Windsor decided to challenge the law after her spouse of her 44 years Thea Spyer died and she had to pay over $3000 in state taxes because the federal government did not recognize their marriage. Defenders of DOMA, like congressional Republicans, state that only Supreme Court can decide what is constitutional, which is what will happen.

At the heart of both cases is the question of whether or not the Constitution's guarantee of equal protection allow legal distinctions between same-sex couples and those of the opposite sex.  The answer will soon be delivered.