Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says the court is likely to rule on the validity of the Defense of Marriage Act within the next year.
Ginsburg was speaking at the University of Colorado in Boulder and was asked about the equal-protection clause. The student-submitted question asked whether the nation’s high court would consider it applying to sexual orientation.
She said she can’t comment on issues before the court.
“I think it’s most likely that we will have that issue before the court toward the end of the current term,” Ginsburg said.
A judge in New York has already ruled that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.
Many states have passed constitutional ammendments banning gay marriage, while eight states have approved it. Those states that allow gay marriage are Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maryland and Washington state. Maryland and Washington’s laws aren’t yet in effect pending referendum this November.
In February 2011, President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder instructed the Department of Justice to stop defending the Defense of Marriage Act.
