Last Friday, the Supreme Court agreed to take up the issue of same-sex marriage. Currently there are 36 states that have legal same-sex marriage. With one court ruling, the remaining holdouts would be converted to the same status.
"It looks pretty clear that they would not have taken it" without broad support, Sue O'Connell said. O'Connell is the co-publisher of South End News and Bay Windows. She said the high court noticed a change in attitude among the American public.
"The number of states that are now in the balance for marriage equality, the number of Americans who support or don't care about marriage equality, and the number of people that now have access to it — which is over 70 percent now — makes it pretty clear" which way the Court is likely to rule, O'Connell said.
O'Connell was surprised conservatives hadn't cottoned to same-sex marriage on the basis of tax savings. O'Connell cited United States v. Windsor, which dealt with unduly high taxes a widowed gay woman paid after her spouse died. The case resulted in a repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act.
"It's really hard if you're a conservative to say the government should take more of your money," O'Connell said.
Conservatives like former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee have already proposed novel ways for states that haven't legalized same-sex marriage to rebuff a possible Supreme Court ruling. "Somebody has to decide, is the court right?" Huckabee told radio host Hugh Hewitt.
O'Connell thought Chief Justice would vote in favor of gay marriage, for fear of being ill-remembered by history. "If the Supreme Court — as we think they will — just says, 'Okay, everyone can get married,' (...) if Roberts is against it, it will be in the history books."
>> Sue O'Connell is co-publisher of Bay Windowsand The South End News. Follow her here on Twitter, and hear her weekly on Boston Public Radio.
