Updated 11:00 a.m. EDT
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court waded into the fight over same-sex marriage on Tuesday, at a time when public opinion is shifting rapidly in favor of permitting gay and lesbian couples to wed.
The court’s first major examination of gay rights in 10 years got underway at 10 a.m. EDT with a hearing on California’s ban on same-sex marriage.
Outside the court, observers and witnesses to history eagerly await the culmination of a long-anticipated battle for the freedom to marry:
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Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP
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Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP
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Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP
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Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP
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Photo via: United for Marriage
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Photo via: United for Marriage
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Photo via GLAAD.
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Photo via GLAAD.
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Photo: Brody Levesque, LGBTQ Nation
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Photo: Brody Levesque, LGBTQ Nation
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