WASHINGTON (AP) — The next phase of President Barack Obama's evolution on gay marriage may come with the deadline for his administration to weigh in on a landmark Supreme Court case that could determine whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to wed.
Gay rights supporters want the administration to file a friend-of-the-court brief urging the justices to overturn California's gay marriage ban. Obama is not required to file a brief, and if he does, it would not be legally binding.
But it could offer the clearest insight into Obama's views on gay marriage, an issue he supports but has said should be governed by the states.
Ahead of Thursday's deadline, dozens of prominent Republicans signed a brief asking the justices to declare California's Proposition 8 ballot measure unconstitutional.
