SCOTUS Told What SCOTUS Meant In Gay Marriage Ruling

As the Supreme Court deliberates on another gay marriage case –this time regarding whether state bans on gay unions are unconstitutional—dozens of lawyers have submitted briefs detailing their interpretations of the Court’s own ruling in U.S. v. Windsor, which brought down the federal Defense Against Marriage Act. Though it is not unusual for the Supreme Court to hear cases which hinge on interpreting a single precedent, “[I]t’s rare to have one that is so recent and so high-profile,” Kannon Shanmugam, a Washington lawyer, told the Washington Post. The justices can hardly have forgotten what they said in in Windsor’s 5-4 decision, she notes “I think the rapidity of this returning to the court has caught everyone off guard,” said Kyle Duncan, a lawyer who filed an amicus brief on behalf of Louisiana and other states looking to retain same-sex marriage bans.