Why is marriage important? Why are these Prop 8 and DOMA oral arguments before the Supreme Court so damn important? Don’t listen to all the noise — just listen to the lead plaintiff in the DOMA case, an 83-year-old woman named Edie Windsor, who lost her lifelong partner and ended up in a hospital with “broken heart syndrome,” only to wake up and realize the “federal government was treating us as strangers.” This is an everyday hero.

There’s literally zero chance that Anthony Kennedy will sign on to a decision reversing the 9th Circuit and upholding Proposition 8. So the question is whether they dodge this case (on standing grounds or otherwise) or actually dive into it.

Tomorrow will be more telling. I expect you’ll here both Kennedy and Roberts be very skeptical of DOMA, maybe even Alito too. If that’s so, I could see a very strong opinion (written by Kennedy) striking down DOMA, and a dodge on Hollingsworth v. Perry. That’ll buy the court 2 or 3 years before proponents of SSM are before it again…when they will argue that any denial of marriage rights to them will violate equal protection. They will cite the DOMA case in support and they will win.
Great take on this week’s SCOTUS marriage equality oral arguments for Prop 8 and DOMA. TRANSCRIPT AND AUDIO HERE.