We thought it might be Thursday, but SCOTUS is in fact planning to close up shop a day early for their summer recess, and the final big decisions of the term are to be announced Wednesday, June 26. Those would be the Prop 8 and DOMA cases, of course, otherwise known as Hollingsworth vs. Perry and United States vs. Windsor, and the S.F. gay community is already optimistically planning a big street party in the Castro starting at 6:30 p.m.
Starting at around 7:30 a.m., directly after the decisions are announced, there will be a press conference gathering on the steps of City Hall led by City Attorney Dennis Herrera and his press secretary Matt Dorsey. Dorsey earlier laid out the possible outcomes of the case, and it is likely that the court will either rule on the standing issue, or will decide that it should not have granted review for the case at all, both of which mean California is likely to be able to resume having gay marriages as early as late July. The standing ruling, though, or any complicated other ruling that Justice Kennedy is likely crafting, could open the door for further challenges in California around Prop 8, so we can't be totally sure just yet that there is reason to party. Significantly better would be a ruling that narrowly strikes down Prop 8 and reframes civil unions as so marriage-like that the seven states that currently have them, like California, will be forced to call these legal marriage. In any event, a sweeping ruling striking down Prop 8 on its merits, allowing gay marriage nationwide, is not likely. See the New Yorker's handy interactive info-graphic to see what the outcomes may be state by state.
City Hall and Civic Center are likely to be bustling with activity, and news cameras, throughout the day given that the city was a party to the Prop 8 lawsuit. Oh, and assuming the news is mostly good for the cause of marriage equality, there will be protesters from the other side, probably.
Meanwhile, up in the Castro, a rally is planned at 6:30 p.m. which is likely to be more of a party if the news is good. That will go until 9 p.m., and should involve street closures and possibly a DJ.
All signs point to SCOTUS striking down DOMA tomorrow, which in itself will be huge news for LGBT rights and a big step forward in gay marriage law in general. It will (presumably) mean that everyone who is legally married, in whatever state, will be treated equally for tax and immigration purposes under federal law. And so, hopefully, we should have more than one reason for celebration.
[BCN/Appeal]
[Mercury-News]
[CBS]
