At their Conference today, the Justices will consider petitions raising federal constitutional issues related to same-sex marriage. These are the most significant cases these nine Justices have ever considered, and probably that they will ever decide.

Several gay and lesbian couples who are plaintiffs in a legal challenge to a state law prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages met with state legislators in Springfield Wednesday and urged them to vote for a bill that would legalize gay marriage in Illinois.

DOMA is the shortened name for the so-called Defense of Marriage Act. DOMA is a federal law that was passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton in 1996, in response to the marriage equality litigation in Hawaii in which Lambda Legal was co-counsel. Some members of Congress were worried that, if same-sex couples won the right to marry in Hawaii, the federal government and other states might have to start honoring those marriages. They passed DOMA in an effort to prevent that.

(This post originally appeared in SDGLN media partner LGBTQ Nation HERE.)

WASHINGTON -- Following recent victories for same-sex marriage in Maine, Maryland and Washington state this election cycle, the Human Rights Campaign on Sunday announced the launch of a national TV ad campaign aimed at growing public support for marriage equality.