The White House is keeping mum on
whether the Supreme Court should take a gay marriage case.
White House press secretary Jay Carney
was asked at a press conference on Tuesday whether the high court
could review a lower court's ruling declaring unconstitutional
Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban.
“I will ask you to direct it to the
Justice Department,” Carney
said. “I'm not going to make policy toward Supreme Court cases
from here.”
The Justice Department is in favor of
the court looking at cases that involve the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA), the 1996 law which prevents federal agencies from recognizing
the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples. President Barack
Obama in May endorsed gay nuptials and has previously said he's
opposed to DOMA and amendments such as Proposition 8.
Striking down DOMA would only affect
states where such unions are already legal.
A review of a state constitutional ban
such as Proposition 8 could have far wider legal implications.
(Related: Gay
marriage in California as early as next month?)