The Supreme Court decided today to review the right of states to ban same-sex marriage. The Court granted certiorari in four cases, all from the Sixth Circuit (Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee), whose U.S. Court of Appeals had upheld state bans. Here are the issues on which the Court will hear argument:

1) Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between ...

You may recall that in early October the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review decisions from U.S. Courts of Appeals for the Fourth, Seventh, and Tenth circuits* that struck down same-sex marriage bans.

At that time, every federal appellate court facing the issue -- in addition to these three, the Ninth Circuit -- had found that same-sex marriage bans were unconstitutional.

Until ...