Bloomberg View: Marriage Equality at the Supreme Court

The question before the U.S. Supreme Court is not whether to allow same-sex marriage, but how. That should be the question, anyway. The court has agreed to hear two cases involving the constitutionality of same-sex marriage. Theodore Olson, one of the lawyers for proponents of same-sex marriage, called it “perhaps the most important remaining civil-rights issue of our time.” What the court must do is find a way to encourage the movement’s progress without needlessly antagonizing opponents.

The court will probably hear oral arguments in March in the two historic cases. One concerns the legality of a provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, the 1996 federal law that defines marriage as “a legal union between one man and one woman.” Under DOMA, gay couples in states where it’s legal for them to marry can’t claim federal tax breaks or other benefits that straight married couples receive.