Column: Who owns marriage?

• Despite potential rulings states will continue to be able to recognize gay marriage.

For weeks observers wondered what the Supreme Court might do about the cases related to gay marriage piling up on their doorstep. They had several to consider (and another had just arrived). Most were challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prohibited the United States government from recognizing same-sex marriages, even in states where they had been legalized.

The highly publicized challenge to California's Proposition 8, a ballot initiative banning recognition of same-sex marriage in the Golden State, was also knocking at their door.

It was pretty much a given that at least one of the DOMA cases would be taken up, and the court chose one of the cases Friday for review. At the heart of the DOMA conflict is the relationship between the federal government and the state. Can the United States refuse to acknowledge contracts a state declares legal?

The case selected, Windsor v. United States, is about a woman unable to claim an estate tax deduction following the death of her female partner, with whom she was considered legally married in the State of New York. Technically the case could be reviewed without tackling the thorny issue of whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to demand government recognition of their marriages.

Less certain was whether the Supreme Court would take up Proposition 8, but on Friday they accepted that case for review as well. This case (Hollingsworth v. Perry) will get the most attention, because the Proposition 8 argument is about whether same-sex marriage recognition is a fundamental Constitutional right. Taking on this challenge means the Supreme Court is indeed willing to consider whether same-sex couples are entitled to the same legal recognitions shared by their heterosexual counterparts.

It is important to note, however, that a negative Supreme Court ruling won't turn back the clock on other gains made toward gay marriage recognition. The November votes in Washington, Maryland and Maine to recognize gay marriage will still stand, even if the court rules that California or the federal government don't have to follow along. The Supreme Court can't actually stop the trend toward gay marriage recognition if that's what the public wants. It can only decide whether or not same-sex couples have a right to demand it.

Scott Shackford is an associate editor at Reason.com.