The steps of the Supreme Court were abuzz with activity and colorful crowds of demonstrators Tuesday morning as the high court prepared to hear oral arguments for a case that may decide the future of American marriage.
The demonstrators included organizations and private citizens making their case and showing the flag — sometimes literally — on both sides of the marriage debate.
“We’re here to protect religious liberty in this debate,” said Kassie Dulin of the Liberty Institute, an advocacy group that argues states should be allowed to make their own decisions on same-sex unions. “We believe that people should not only be free to hold their beliefs, but also to speak and act on those beliefs.”
Sophia Lin and Ross Rattanasena, students at George Washington University, were at the court early and outed themselves as “Game of Thrones” fans. Mr. Rattanasena waved a sign reading, “More gay weddings, less red weddings.”
“I would love to see a court hand down a decision for all 50 states” requiring them to sanction gay marriage, said Mr. Rattanasena.
A rally by LGBT activists featured two performances of the national anthem by the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, but there were some less-pleasant confrontations during the morning.
At the front of the crowd, several traditional marriage groups gathered for a rally in support of religious freedom.
Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, took the stage to jeers from counterprotesters as he proclaimed that “the days of comfortable Christianity are over” and that he and others there “will never be intimidated.”
Elizabeth Santorum, the daughter of former Sen. Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, a prominent gay marriage opponent, was heckled while she tried to speak.
After speaking, Ms. Santorum was met by a chorus of boos and jeers, and a single protester, carrying a rainbow flag and a pro-gay rights poster, accosted the 24-year-old and told her, “Your father is a bigot.”
Both sides rehearsed their arguments for and against gay marriage as the justices heard the legal debate inside.
“There are four words on the front of the Supreme Court building: ’Equal justice under law,’” said Jason Rahlan of Human Rights Campaign, which argues gays have a constitutional right to marry. “We just want gays and lesbians to have the right to marry whom they love.”
Other groups, however, see the issue as one having to do with the same jurisprudence that struck down the federal Defense of Marriage Act two years ago.
Caleb Dalton, litigation counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said in an interview that the oral arguments made by the defendants would center on the Windsor decision, which said that the state of New York had the right to define marriage as it had voted, and the federal marriage legislation had no bearing on that decision.
Following two and a half hours of oral arguments, public debate and speaking into a megaphone, all parties involved seemed to rally around a single phrase: “See you in June.”
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