Washington ( CNN ) -- Supporters of California 's voter-approved ballot measure banning same-sex marriage in the state asked the U.S. Supreme Court Tuesday to allow it go back into effect . At issue is whether the Constitution 's 14th Amendment guarantee of `` equal protection '' prevents states from defining marriage as only between one man and one woman . The justices will decide in coming weeks whether to put this hot-button social issue on its docket . If it agrees to take the appeal , oral arguments would likely be held early next year . In February , a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled the measure unconstitutional . In its split decision , the panel found that Proposition 8 `` works a meaningful harm to gays and lesbians '' by denying their right to civil marriage . Chick-fil-A wades into a fast-food fight over same-sex marriage rights . The same sex marriage issue is working on two legal tracks . The high court is currently considering separate appeals over the congressionally authorized Defense of Marriage Act , which also defines marriage for federal purposes as only between one man and one woman . The justices have the ultimate discretion to refuse taking on the issue . The `` Prop 8 '' case , as it has become known , has been down a complicated legal road . California 's Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriages were legal in 2008 . After the statewide ballot measure banning them passed with 52 % of the vote later that year , gay and lesbian marriages were put on hold . Currently , same-sex marriage is legal in six states : Massachusetts , Connecticut , Iowa , Vermont , New Hampshire and New York , along with the District of Columbia . Washington and Maryland voted earlier this year to allow same-sex marriages , but the laws have not yet taken effect . Another five states -- Delaware , Hawaii , Illinois , New Jersey and Rhode Island -- allow civil unions , providing state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples . President Barack Obama , who previously opposed same-sex marriage , said in June he now supports it . `` When I think about those soldiers or airmen or Marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained , even now that 'do n't ask , do n't tell ' is gone , because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage , at a certain point I 've just concluded that for me personally , it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married , '' the president told ABC News . The state law 's supporters , led by a coalition of groups under the ProtectMarriage.com banner -- urged the justices in their 500-plus petition to preserve the will of the voters in this politically charged social issue . `` Californians of all races , creeds , and walks of life have opted to preserve the traditional definition of marriage not because they seek to dishonor gays and lesbians as a class , but because they believe that the traditional definition of marriage continues to meaningfully serve society 's legitimate interests , and they can not yet know how those interests will be affected by fundamentally redefining marriage . '' California is the only state that accepted , then revoked , same-sex marriage as a legal right . Opponents of Prop 8 urged the high court to expand the `` traditional '' views of marriage . Episcopal Church approves same-sex blessing service . `` The president of the United States , a majority of the American public , two federal courts and most of America 's NATO allies view marriage equality as a fact , '' said Rick Jacobs , founder of the Courage Campaign . `` We can only hope that the Supreme Court will once again act for all Americans on the right side of history , not for a few hysterical ones scared of love . '' In the separate issue over congressional authority , a federal appeals court in Massachusetts this spring struck down a key part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage law as unconstitutional . The issue before the 1st U.S . Circuit Court of Appeals was whether the federal government could deny tax , health and pension benefits to same-sex couples in states where they can legally marry . The Massachusetts case was appealed recently to the U.S. Supreme Court . The California appeal is Hollingsworth v. Perry . Tech is getting more gay-friendly .
The Supreme Court will decide in coming weeks whether to put the case on its docket . A lower court ruled that Proposition 8 denies gays and lesbians a legal right . A coalition of groups under the ProtectMarriage.com banner urges the court to back the ban . The Courage Campaign wants the opposite outcome .