Word: gayness
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...banning interracial marriage. Olson and Boies argue that two other big federal cases have laid the groundwork for the Supreme Court, despite its conservative makeup: Romer v. Evans, which in 1996 struck down a statewide ballot measure in Colorado that had barred cities from passing anti-discrimination ordinances for gays and lesbians, and Lawrence v. Texas, the landmark gay-rights case from 2003 that overturned all state laws making gay sex a crime...
...Still, those arguments are hardly novel. Gay-rights lawyers and others have made that case for years, but have always avoided bringing it to federal court for fear of an unfriendly reception. But Olson told TIME that their approach will also seek to leverage powerful reasoning in the small but growing number of state supreme court decisions that favor gay marriage, from California's sweeping decision last year that spurred on the Prop 8 movement to Iowa's 2009 decision, with its lengthy rebuttal of religious-based arguments against gay marriage...
...There are other risks, however. In the wake of the recent California Supreme Court ruling upholding Prop 8, gay-rights activists and others have vowed to put the issue of gay marriage back in front of voters, perhaps by as early as 2010. If they win, gay marriages will resume - a big victory for the movement, but one that would likely halt Olson and Boies' case in its tracks. Since all four plaintiffs in the federal suit are Californians, a victory at the polls would mean they have no claim to pursue...
...great if [the new ballot initiative] would be successful, but ... a loss would be very unfortunate - two successive popular vote losses in the nation's largest and one of the most liberal states. I'm not quite sure I follow the risk-benefit analysis." That's exactly what gay-rights activists worried about this suit have been thinking...
...Watch a video on gay marriage in the heartland...