The Sixth Circuit has been in the national media spotlight following last Thursday’s high-profile decision upholding same-sex marriage bans in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee.  See Opinion (6th Cir. Case Nos. 14-1341; 3057; 3464; 5291; 5297; 5818).  We covered the Sixth Circuit’s decision here only hours after it was decided.  The Court’s decision is the first major ruling upholding states’ rights to define marriage as between a man and a woman, and there is one burning question everyone is asking:  Will the Sixth Circuit’s divided 2-1 decision be the catalyst that spurs the U.S. Supreme Court to take on the same-sex marriage issue once and for all?

For insight into this question and the reasoning underlying the Sixth Circuit’s decision, the media turned to our own Pierre Bergeron for comment.  In Friday’s Cleveland Plain Dealer, Pierre noted that the Sixth Circuit’s gay marriage ruling creates the Circuit split that the Supreme Court has been waiting for.  As Pierre further highlighted in the Chattonooga free times on Friday, the Sixth Circuit’s decision is “tailor-made for the Supreme Court to intervene.”

Speaking more generally about last Thursday’s decision by the Sixth Circuit, Pierre told the Dayton Daily News on Friday that “I think the court is really saying the Supreme Court has not preordained this and the Supreme Court has not yet created a constitutional right for gay marriage.  And if the Supreme Court is going do it, the Supreme Court is going to do it — not the Sixth Circuit.”

So what would the argument at the Supreme Court look like?  “I think it’s likely that the pitch at the Supreme Court is going to be for recognition of a constitutional right,” Pierre explained to the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Sunday.

I have my own thoughts and insights on the Sixth Circuit’s decision and whether the U.S. Supreme Court will take up the same-sex marriage issue in the coming Term.  Check out my exclusive video interview on LXBN TV with host Colin O’Keefe where I break down the Sixth Circuit’s majority and dissenting opinions and discuss the factors that will influence Supreme Court review.  I also explore the irony of whether the Sixth Circuit’s decision just nationalized same-sex marriage in this country:

Also be sure to check out LXBN TV’s additional coverage of the Sixth Circuit’s same-sex marriage ruling which compares our blog post with other viewpoints.

 As always, we welcome your thoughts in the comments below.