We have big news coming from the United State Supreme Court on the Prop 8 case. Plus: major advances in some of the other challenges to state and federal bans on the freedom to marry. We've got the latest tally on surveys showing a majority of Americans favor marriage equality.

Major Prop 8 news today: the Supreme Court of the United States has released a list of some of the cases it will take in its upcoming term, and AFER's case is not included.

This doesn't mean that the court is passing on the case -- at least not yet. It either means that they're going to officially decline to hear it next week, or that they're holding off on making a decision until later in their term.

If they decide to pass on the case, then our previous victories would stand and marriages could resume in California. And if they do eventually decide to take the case, AFER will defend our victories in court with briefs and oral argument by April 2013. In that case, we'll expect a final decision by the end of June.

No matter what happens, AFER is ready.

And while the Supreme Court deliberates, our work for marriage equality continues to move forward. We now count sixteen national surveys that show a majority of Americans support the freedom to marry. This shift in public opinion over the last three years coincides with increased public awareness of the issues that gay and lesbian couples face.

In other national news, one of the lawsuits challenging the federal Defense of Marriage Act will advance on Thursday of this week. An appeals court in New York is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case Windsor vs. United States.

And a federal case challenging Hawaii's ban on marriage equality is on course to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Earlier this year, a Federal District Court ruled that the ban could be legally justified. Plaintiffs and Governor Neil Abercrombie have appealed that decision, which will now be heard by the same court that found Prop 8 to be unconstitutional.