In which Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington may be irrelevant.

Jack Baker and Michael McConnell in 1970.

Let's go back, but we'll not call it that far back so I don't offend my somewhat older readers. Back to 1970. The year All My Children was first broadcast on ABC. The year the first Earth Day was celebrated in San Francisco. The year The Beatles disbanded. The year 1 World Trade Center was completed and became the tallest building in the world at the time.

On May 18th, 1970, two men, Jack Baker and Michael McConnell applied for a marriage license in Hennepin County, Minnesota. This was back before many people thought to try to define what marriage actually is, but the couple was systematically denied a license. An appeal eventually made it all the way to the Supreme Court, but the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. McConnell eventually adopted Baker in August 1971, and Baker changed his legal name to Pat Lynn McConnell. A couple weeks later, they applied for a marriage license again, and the license was granted after the waiting period for licenses expired. The couple became the first gay couple to be legally married and recognized by a jurisdiction in the United States.

Three days ago, Minnesota voters -rejected- a ban on same-sex marriage, which preserved the nation's   first recognized same-sex marriage from annulment.

Some more history: In January 1973, Maryland became the first state to specifically ban gay marriage by state law, which began a long period of states banning same-sex marriage, which would eventually reach 45 states.

History was again made by Maryland three days ago, as it joined Maine and Washington as the first states to ever recognize gay marriage through a measure citizens voted on.

The more recent history, however, may not make the limited space most U.S. history textbooks in light of what could be coming soon.

The Supreme Court, which has -completely- turned over since 1973 -almost- twice (Thurgood Marshall's successor was Clarence Thomas, so that seat hasn't turned over twice), is a body which is supposed to be non-partisan, and depending on the which period of the Court's history that has held true, but many people, who watch the Court closely, are skeptical about the current composition of the Justices and whether or not they vote on party lines.

The Supreme Court, many feel, seems to understand this criticism, and many speculate that that is why Chief Justice John Roberts, who was appointed by a Republican president (George W. Bush) voted that ObamaCare almost in its entirety, is constitutional. The Supreme Court appearing partisan weakens the Supreme Court and encourages those who disagree with a decision to try again when the court is voting less on party lines.

The Supreme Court is set to consider, on November 20th, taking up one or some of the ten or so requests that have been made to address what the U.S. Constitution says about gay marriage, and it is -widely- expected to do so. If it does take on a case, we can expect the decision sometime by June 2013.

There is a way, however, that the ballot initiatives in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington could play a role, however. It -could- show that a democratic process is the way to handle the question, and that the 10th Amendment is the most relevant part of the Constitution when it comes to gay marriage, but it is also possible that isn't the case. It is possible that the Establishment Clause of the 1st amendment and/or the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th amendment could play a major role in a decision to side with same-sex marriage advocates.

No matter what happens, what -is- apparent is the the decision would be any number of many, many different possibilities. Those possibilities, however, generally fall into one of three rulings. We'll use California's Prop 8 (which bans same-sex marriage) as an example for this:

• The Supreme Court decides to uphold Proposition 8. 
• The Supreme Court overturns Proposition 8, which would prevent Proposition 8 from becoming law, affecting only California. 
• The Supreme Court overturns Proposition 8, and rules in such a way that -all- bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional, and are thereby void. This would likely effect all state bans, including amendments, as well as federal law, including the Defense of Marriage Act. 

We don't see decisions like the one made in the last bullet made very often at all, but something of that magnitude -has- happened before several times. In 1973, the same year Maryland banned same-sex marriage in that state, the Supreme Court made its decision on Roe v. Wade.

So, while four states each sided with gay marriage advocates this past election, it may or may not be a huge event in comparison to the one that very well might be coming less than a year afterwards. We will have to wait and see if the issue remains a state issue or not.

Brian (left) and me (right) and...green walls.

Personal note: May 18th, the date which Jack Baker and Michael McConnell first applied for a marriage license in 1970 is the same day in 2006 that my partner (Brian Smith) and I got together. In doing research for this post, I came across that and found it fascinating. 1 in 365 chance of that.