For more than two weeks, gay rights advocates have stood at the steps of
the United States Supreme Court waiting to hear decisions from the
justices about two cases that will affect millions of gays and lesbians
across the nation. With each day that passed without a ruling, they left
disappointed.
But Wednesday marks the last day the court will convene for this term,
and decisions are expected to be handed down for both the Defense of
Marriage Act, known as DOMA, which denies federal benefits to gay and
lesbian married couples, and Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriage
in California.
Dozens of people made their way to the court building on Tuesday night,
beginning around 7:30 p.m., to sit in line in order to be admitted
inside on Wednesday morning to hear the decisions. The early crowd
seemed to be predominantly gay rights activists.
By 7 a.m. the line stretched down the front steps and wrapped around the
corner. People stood up to start walking into the building at about
7:15 a.m., and court officials started handing out tickets to enter.
Coffee cups and candy wrappers lined the sidewalk and a few sleepy
college-aged boys brushed their teeth in the street. “You only can sleep
on the cement and witness history once,” said Joanne Joseph, a law
student at Cornell who is studying religious freedom.
In the early morning, the scene in front of the court was relatively
tame compared with the throngs outside the hearings that took place in
March, but bigger crowds were expected. News media crews clogged the
sidewalk in front of the building.
Maureen Mentrek and Karna Adam, both sophomores at Dartmouth, said they
came to the court last night at 9:30 p.m. to get in line. They said they
slept for about an hour, with pillows and sleeping bags on the
sidewalk.
“It’s a huge landmark case and to actually be able to see it and to see
these people in line so passionate about it is really great,” Mr. Adam
said. “It is a changing time for us and these cases are like the civil
rights cases used to be for past generations.”
Jared Millrad, a lawyer who lives in Washington, arrived at the court at
about 11 p.m. Tuesday night. He said he came to hear the decisions
because DOMA personally affects him. He and his boyfriend got engaged
last month in New York and hope to be married within a year.
“I came for those who couldn’t be here whether living or dead, including
those heroes of mine in the LGBT community,” Mr. Millrad said.
The court will begin handing down decisions at 10 a.m.
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