state, christine, that granted this rate to same-sex couples and then took it away with prop 8, you could see the court basically saying, you know what, california, you can t do that, we re going to rule against prop 8 but this only applies to that state. another path you would potentially see is the court saying that civil unions doesn t go far enough, that if you don t allow marriage that it s discrimination. so for the states, only for the states that allow civil unions that those states then also have to allow same-sex marriage. and the last and probably least likely scenario, is for the court to overrule gay marriage ban, same-sex marriage bans across the nation. that s probably least likely. one last thing, christine, we expect for chief justice john roberts cousin, his first cousin, she s a lesbian, an open lesbian, who s openly campaigned against proposition 8 to be in the court with her partner. christine? wow. must be interesting. shannon travis.
we will tell you his feel-good story. also, oral arguments on california s controversial gay marriage ban just wrapping up at the supreme court. cryptic questions from the justices. what does it all mean when it comes to a final ruling? we ll get into it. for over 75 years people have saved money with.ohhh. .with geico. ohhh.sorry! director s voice: here we go. from the top. and action for over 75 years people have saved money with gecko so.. director s voice: cut it! .what.what did i say? gecko? i said gecko? aw. for over 75 year.(laughs. but still trying to keep it contained) director s voice: keep it together. i m good. i m good. for over 75.(uncontrollable laughter). what are you doing there? stop making me laugh. vo: geico. saving people money for over seventy-five years. gecko: don t look at me. don t look at me.
the s&p came within two points of a new closing high. and the winner of that 3$33 million power ball jackpot will take a lump sum payment of $152 million after taxes. not bad. now back to hardball. welcome back to hardball. culture wedges have long been used by republicans as we know as wedges to divide democrats. in 2004, for instance, republicans placed a gay marriage ban on the ballot in ohio as i said to help get the conservative vote out and it worked. president bush won ohio by two points. as a result, he won that election in 2000. but now he won it after the supreme court helped him. now it s the democrats turn to use wedges, actually, 2004. wedges issues against republicans. politico reports today the culture wars are back but this time with a significant twist. the left is picking the fights and for the most part enjoying being on the right side of public opinion.
conference board reports consumer confidence has fallen eight point this month. and the s&p case-shiller home price index reports the biggest annual increase in home prices. meantime, in 6 1/2 years. that s it from cnbc. now back to hardball. welcome back to hardball. culture wedges have long been used by republicans as we know as wedges to divide democrats. in 2004, for instance, republicans placed a gay marriage ban on the ballot in ohio as i said to help get the conservative vote out and it worked. president bush won ohio by two points. as a result, he won that election in 2000. but now, he won it after the supreme court helped him. now it s the democrats turn to use wedges, actually, 2004. wedges issues against republicans. politico reports today the culture wars are back but this time with a significant twist. the left is picking the fights and for the most part enjoying
there was no evidence, none, that allowing gays and lesbians to marry harms the institution of marriage or harms anyone else. institution of marriage laws are designed to attach mothers and fathers to each other and to the children they may create. a live look at the supreme court of the united states, where people have been lining up since thursday for this week s historic arguments that could change the face of the same sex marriage fight across the country. and tomorrow, the supreme court hears arguments over whether california s prop 8, gay marriage ban, is constitutional. then on wednesday, the justices will hear a challenge to the constitutionality to defense of marriage act. joining me, pete williams. this headline from the washington post, the supreme court may choose caution over boldness, that s what it reads, with an overwhelming number of states outlawing same sex