The Supreme Court will make a final decision on same-sex marriage.
The justices have agreed to consider four cases, consolidated and heard together. The cases are from Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.
According to USA Today, this sets up a schedule under which the court likely will hear oral arguments in April and issue a ruling before its current term ends in late June. A total of one hour and ninety minutes is allotted for the arguments, according to the order list. The first round of briefs is due Feb. 27.
Read the order list here: SupremeCourtOrderListGayMarriage
The Supreme Court previously looked at the issue in October of 2014, but opted to not take up any cases and let the current marriage equality rulings stand.
According to the order list, the cases will resolve two questions: “1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? 2) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed and performed out-of-state?”
Right now, same-sex marriage is legal in 36 states. The bans remaining in the other 14 states are under court challenge.
