First Take: Justices decide gay marriage by not deciding

Chief Justice John Roberts may not have wanted the court to decide the same-sex marriage issue. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court faced one of the biggest issues in its history Monday and turned its back. Rather than decide the issue of same-sex marriage, as virtually everyone involved in the debate expected, the justices simply let stand lower-court rulings striking down bans in five states. Within hours, marriages were set to take place. Chief Justice John Roberts may not have wanted the court to decide the same-sex marriage issue. And the justices knew their decision to stay out of the grand national debate would have further repercussions: Within days or weeks, gay marriage could be legal in 30 states representing 60% of the U.S. population. Nine more states in the Midwest and West could be added very soon if appeals courts there join the juggernaut. Why did the Supreme Court take a pass? Most likely because it lacked the votes to stop what federal and state court judges have started. "The far more conservative justices couldn't count to five," said Jon Davidson of the gay rights group Lambda Legal. "They were not assured of a fifth vote, and so they didn't want to grant review yet."