Divided Supreme Court Offers Mixed Signals In Marriage Debate.

Joey Williamson, left, and Gary Brown form New York City,
 cover themselves from the snow as they wait in line outside of 
the Supreme Court in Washington for the court hearing on
 same-sex marriage.

A divided Supreme Court debated Tuesday whether the Constitution includes a right to same-sex marriage and how broadly such a right would extend.

The justices wrestled with California’s ban on gay marriage in a case that would allow them to declare a nationwide right to same-sex marriage. But several justices seemed hesitant to go that far, questioning whether the issue should be allowed to percolate further in the states.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, who casts the court’s typical swing vote, questioned whether the court made a mistake by agreeing to hear the case.

“I just wonder if the case was properly granted,” Kennedy said.

The court’s most conservative justices pushed back hard against the case for marriage equality. Justice Antonin Scalia repeatedly pressed attorney Ted Olson, who is arguing against the California ban, to tell him when the Constitution came to protect gay marriage.

The court’s liberals, meanwhile, argued that opening the door to same-sex marriage would not harm the institution of marriage any more than allowing marriage among infertile couples, or couples who are too old to have children.

It’s the first time the Supreme Court has tacked the subject of gay marriage. It will continue to hear arguments on Wednesday over the Defense of Marriage Act.