The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up the issue of same-sex marriage by hearing two cases challenging federal and state laws that restrict marriage rights. One case challenges California’s same-sex marriage ban, Proposition 8, while the second concerns the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which denies federal benefits to married same-sex couples. Nine states and Washington, D.C., have legalized same-sex marriage, including three of them by popular vote during last month’s election.