The waiting is the hardest part...

The Supreme Court of Washington State is expected to rule 'at any time' on two lower court rulings in favor of same-sex marriage.

A state law allowing only members of the oppostie sex to marry was struck down by both courts as unconstitutional. The two lower court rulings have been stayed pending the ruling of the state supreme court. Making the ruling in Anderson vs. King County, Judge William L. Downing said that the same-sex marriage ban "is not rationally related to any legitimate or compelling state interest."

Here are the options for the Court as I understand them:

• uphold the ruling of the lower courts and strike down the same-sex marrige ban.
• uphold the ruling of the lower courts, leave the law in place and hand the problem to the legislature to solve.
• uphold the ruling of the lower courts, hand the problem to the legislature to solve with prescriptive guidence on remedies that are constitutionally acceptable.
• overturn the ruling of the lower courts stating that the same-sex marriage ban is constitutional.

I'm hopeful. But I confess that's tough in a state where it is still legal to discriminate against gays and lesbians in employment and housing.

The court hands down rulings on Thursdays and I'll be checking in with Equal Rights Washington each Wednesday.