A wave of support for gay marriage is sweeping across the United States as the country is reconsidering its stance on its marriage laws.

The U.S. Supreme Court in late March opened hearings over California’s law barring same-sex marriages, Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act, the U.S. federal law which limits marriage recognition to only heterosexual marriages. 

For the past few weeks until the hearing date, Facebook walls and Twitter accounts were plastered with picture of a red equal sign in support of gay marriage. It was first distributed on the Human Rights Commission’s official Facebook page, claiming more than 40,000 “likes” and was rapidly shared through various social media. 

Nearly 300 U.S. companies, including big enterprises such as Apple, Walt Disney and Twitter, have signed a petition calling for the Supreme Court to overturn a portion of the DOMA. 

“Attitudes and practices are changing rapidly in corporations. Successful companies compete for top lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender talent, as well as for LGBT customers,” said Steve Salbu, a business expert at Georgia University Institute of Technology.

According to the survey by U.S. television network CBS in 2013, 60 percent of 1,181 adults residing in the U.S. said the federal government should legalize gay marriage. It is a 20 percent increase from the 2005 survey by the Washington Post and ABC network, which showed 4 out of 10 Americans supported gay marriage.

Currently, nine of the 50 states in the U.S. approve of homosexual marriage, as well as the nation’s capital Washington, D.C. 

The Supreme Court is expected to announce their rulings by the end of June.

By Park Sui, Intern reporter
(suipark@heraldcorp.com)