Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine have joined more than a dozen other states in defending same-sex marriage as the Supreme Court prepares to hear two cases on the issue.
The Supreme Court will hear arguments this month on a challenge to California’s same-sex marriage ban and a case involving the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of deciding who can receive a range of federal benefits.
Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine have signed onto ‘friend-of-the-court’ briefs in both cases defending the right to civil marriage for all couples.
Twenty-nine states have constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage, while nine states – including the three northern New England states- and the District of Columbia recognize same-sex marriage.