Earlier this year, a federal appeals court ruled Prop 8 unconstitutional. (JamisonWieser/Flickr)

The Supreme Court announced that it will rule on the legality of gay marriage by taking on two major pieces of legislation.

The Supreme Court said it will review both California's Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act. The court will look at both cases in June, and the justices could potentially change the current laws and allow same-sex marriage throughout the country. The two specific cases at hand, United States v. Windsor, and Hollingsworth v. Perry, deal with DOMA and Prop. 8 respectively.

Proposition 8 was passed in 2008 in California and bans gay couples from marrying, and came after thousands of people were already married. The proposition was reviewed by a federal judge, who ruled that the ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Later, a federal appellate court supported that ruling, but did not address gay marriage on a national scale.

The 1996 Defense of Marriage Act is a federal law that stipulates that marriage is only between opposite-sex couples. Its provisions keep gay couples from having access to marriage-related tax breaks and other benefits. It was passed with overwhelming support and signed into law by President Bill Clinton. However, since then support for it has declined and the current administration has stopped supporting it.

The announcement comes a month after the national election, where Maryland, Maine and Washington approved same-sex marriage. Currently nine states, along with the District of Columbia, allow same-sex couples to wed. Earlier, President Barack Obama came out in favor of gay marriage.

Since the Supreme Court's announcement, a number of organizations have come out in favor of supporting or overruling both laws.

Read more of Neon Tommy's coverage of gay marraige here.
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