The fact pattern in that case striking down Louisiana’s gay marriage ban reads like a law school exam question: lesbian conceives child via artificial insemination, legally marries lesbian partner in California, moves to Louisiana, where same-sex marriage is outlawed and where partner tries to legally adopt the child.
So it’s an adoption case, with same-sex marriage implications. In the same way, the landmark Windsor ruling was a tax case with same sex marriage implications.
Beyond the intricate legal questions, there are obviously very personal and poignant matters at stake. I don’t mean to minimize that. We explored some of those dilemmas last year as it became clear that, for a while at least, the country would have a patchwork of marriage laws, some allowing same sex marriage and some not, with gay partners forced to make very difficult life decisions.
