The 9th Circuit Court's 2-1 decision Tuesday to strike down California's ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional could propel the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court.
It also promises to inject marriage politics into an election year during which states from New Jersey to Minnesota to Washington will grapple with the issue of gay citizens' right to legally marry.
The four remaining GOP presidential nominees, as well as President Obama, oppose same-sex-marriage rights. (Though the president has characterized his position as "evolving.") But the issue could push the composition of the high court — and its several aging justices — to the forefront of voters' minds.
"We'll celebrate this ruling, and then put that momentum toward important battles we're facing this year," said Elizabeth Gill, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.
The judges found that California voters violated the rights of their fellow gay residents when they voted in 2008 to rescind same-sex-marriage rights previously upheld by that state's high court.
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