A historic week at the U.S. Supreme Court may transform the rights of racial minorities and gays, potentially cutting longstanding voting protections for blacks and Hispanics while allowing a new wave of same-sex marriages.
The justices take the bench today to issue the first of 11 decisions before their nine-month term ends. The court is considering limiting university affirmative action, striking down a core part of the landmark Voting Rights Act, invalidating a federal law that defines marriage as an opposite-sex union, and overturning California’s ban on gay weddings.
The result may be a turning point in a debate over equality that has raged since the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868. While the cases offer paths for the justices to avoid the central constitutional questions, the disputes also give them an opportunity to rewrite the nation’s civil rights laws.
As always, SCOTUSblog is on it. They’ll be liveblogging the decisions starting…. now.
