国际英语新闻:U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments on gay marriage

WASHINGTON, March 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday heard arguments of California's ban on same-sex marriage, opening two days of monumental proceedings on the issue.

Tuesday's case in front of the court was Hollingsworth v. Perry, which challenges the ban on same-sex marriage, known as Proposition 8, narrowly approved in a referendum in California in 2008. The two sides in the case were two Californian same-sex couples and the city of San Francisco arguing for the ban to be overturned, against ProtectMarriage.com, the group that put Proposition 8 on California's ballot. ProtectMarriage.com took over the case after California state's attorneys have refused to defend it.

During the oral arguments, the nine Justices questioned attorneys representing both sides of the suit. Tom Goldstein of the SCOTUSblog opined the Justices were divided on the constitutionality of Proposition 8 on ideological grounds, except Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was viewed as the swing vote in this case.

The Supreme Court could potentially pass out a ruling in June on Tuesday's case, but many observers noted the possibility of the court dismissing it without any ruling.

The case is the first of two involving same-sex marriages in front of the Supreme Court this week. The court will hear arguments Wednesday on U.S. v. Windsor, in which they would consider the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), a federal law defining marriage as the legal union between a man and a woman, denying benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees.