Following up on these pieces by Bill Rankin and Josh Gerstein, Lyle Denniston reports:

The Supreme Court’s new display of respect for America’s voters and their capacity to decide deeply controversial issues is being turned into a defense of state ballot measures banning same-sex marriage.  In two federal appeals courts, where three such bans are now under review, attorneys defending the bans have sought to take advantage of the Justices’ April 22 decision in Schuette v. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action.

After years of court battles over same-sex marriage, most of the arguments on both sides have become familiar.  The Schuette decision, however, is being interpreted as strong reinforcement by the Supreme Court of the right of voters in nearly three dozen states to decide who may marry in their state.  That approach appears to be designed mainly to answer the argument that voters approved same-sex marriage bans out of hostility, or “animus,” toward homosexuals….