String of legal wins bolsters same-sex marriage

One after another, judges are declaring that it’s too late to turn back on same-sex marriage.

The string of state and federal court rulings in support of gay and lesbian unions covers every region of the country. There are now 26 states where same-sex couples can get married or a judge has ruled they ought to be allowed.

Gay marriage may be at a legal tipping point. The cause has won such broad approval that it will be hard for the Supreme Court to rule against it.

All the rulings came after the Supreme Court decision last June that struck down part of a federal anti-gay marriage law. Judges have had no trouble extending that ruling to prohibit states from discriminating against same-sex couples who want to wed.