same-sex marriage. starting in about just an hour we expect the supreme court to rule on two of the most anticipated cases of the year. at stake, the legality of same-sex marriage and government rights and benefits. the opinions could reshape the future for millions of same-sex couples. supporters on both sides of this contentious issue are waiting outside of the supreme court. you see them there on the steps. and that s where we find cnn s brian todd. good morning, brian. good morning, carol. a very highly charged atmosphere here today and much different than in previous days. the sense that today is the day. this is the day when the supreme court is in final session today and rule on the two same-sex marriage cases and this is the real difference you haven t seen in the previous days earlier this week and last week. lines from the steps of the court all the way down the street. this line just started to move a little bit. our team got here a little after 5:00 in the morning and a l
married rate for estate tax, can t get social security benefits for a surviving spouse. any federal benefits that might be available for a male-woman marriage, not available to a same-sex relationship. that s the argument. the respondent in this case is edie windsor, had a same-sex spouse, passed away, and she wanted to get the benefit of the estate tax. the federal government said we can t do that, because the federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage. so this, wolf, is not a question of whether the court is going to embrace or deny the right a federal right to same-sex marriage. it s more about the practical effects of that question when you apply for legal benefits, and if you go through this as we play it through, i mean, there s a bigger question. i ll bring this up, as we await the other decision, as well. here s the issue. you have any red state or orange state, you either have recognition of same-sex marriage or at least broad recognition of civil unions and the
quite the scene at the u.s. supreme court. brian todd is in the middle of it all. brian, good morning. good morning, carol. this is really a what gives you a sense of how passionately people feel about same-sex marriage. look over here. all the signs and chanting protesters over here. the vast majority of them in favor of same-sex marriage. i ll go to the die-hard. a gentleman who has been here in the searing swamp-like heat of washington, d.c. for the last two days when other protesters have not been here. came here from miami. bob, why is it so important for you to we here at this day at this time? this is a long journey. six years ago we led the opposition where the gay marriage issue was used to stop the equal right amendment and go after the community and take us three elections to finally overcome that and the supreme court needs to catch up with dade county. i m here to say specifically the issue for me is not gay marriage. i m in a 26-year relationship and entitled to every
be legal and marriage should only be between a man and a woman, because, in their view, marriage is about procreation. that was the argument of prop 8 supporters before the court. the petitioners responding said, no, proposition 8 violates their equal protection clauses under the constitution, that a woman and a woman, or a man and a man, should have every right to get married. as gloria noted earlier, as we await the decision, again, a big question. the court could issue a sweeping ruling that says yea or nay, on the rights of same-sex marriage, or questioning about standing, more limited questions. but what do americans think? about 55% of americans now believe, a majority, but 44% say no, about whether the government should should marriages between gay and lesbian couples be recognized as valid. and some other ones here. look at this by age. this is one of the defining things, the polling about the same-sex marriage, is the generational divide. younger americans, nearly 7 in 10 sa
homosexuality. he said he wanted to know if this was even something that congress should be involved in. the question is whether or not the federal government has the authority to regulate marriage at all, and justice ginsburg jerched in on that issue you were discussing a while ago about how some states have approved it. but then, she said, the federal government comes in to say, no joint tax return, no marital deduction, no social security benefits, one might well ask, what kind of marriage is this. that s what the justices were saying back in the spring, wolf. now we re going to see what decision this summer has brought. tom, thanks very much. obviously, a lot at stake right now in this first case, whether or not the defense of marriage act, which president bill clinton signed into law back in the 90s is or is not constitutional. there s a lot at stake, of course, for everyone, including the president of the united states. jessica yellin is traveling with the president actually