Here Are SCOTUS' Orders Denying Gay Marriage Cases (and 100s More)
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear five gay marriage appeals, along with hundreds of other cases.
In an 81-page Order List issued Monday, the High Court detailed a slew of cases that it would hear in its 2014 Term (which began today), but gay marriage cases from five states were not among them.
Because same-sex marriage appeals from Utah, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Virginia were rejected, the rulings striking down those states' gay marriage bans are now in effect. So what happens next?
SCOTUS Allows Gay Marriage to Advance
By denying certiorari in these cases, gay marriage will become legal in at least five more states. In Virginia, gay couples began getting legally married within hours of the Supreme Court's refusal to hear the state's appeal.
The Supreme Court's refusal to hear gay marriage cases doesn't preclude the Court from taking up another gay marriage case in the future. But for now, declining to hear these cases gives gay marriage advocates a sizable victory.