Supreme Court to Hear Same-Sex Marriage Cases in Late March

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in late March in a pair of cases challenging laws that define marriage as a union of a man and a woman, Reuters reports. On March 26, the court will review California's Proposition 8, the ban on gay marriage that voters narrowly approved in 2008. That case could give the court a chance to accept or reject a constitutional right to same-sex marriage or issue a narrower ruling affecting only the state of California. On March 27, the court will review a New York court ruling striking down a centerpiece of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which denies married same-sex couples a variety of federal benefits that heterosexual couples receive. Decisions in both cases are expected by the end of June.