Will the GOP nominee support gay marriage in 2016?

Karl Rove thinks it's possible

Kat McGuckin of Oaklyn, N.J., holds a gay marriage pride flag in front of the Supreme Court on Nov. 30, 2012. (The building is draped in a photo-realistic sheet while undergoing repairs.)
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The Supreme Court is hearing two landmark cases on same-sex marriage this week, but "one thing is already clear: The political debate over gay marriage is over," says Chris Cillizza at The Washington Post. Politicians and their strategists can read polls, and the uptick in support for legalizing same-sex marriage is unambiguous. (See The Week's timeline on America's gay-marriage evolution since 1971 here.)

It's pretty clear that welcoming gay marriage will be a part of the Democratic Party platform for the foreseeable future. Potential 2016 presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton announced her support in a video last week. Red state Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) casually declared her approval of same-sex marriage on Sunday, via her Tumblr page, citing St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians. Now, the real question is whether gay marriage will become an issue that divides roughly along partisan lines, like abortion rights, or whether Republicans will join Democrats, marking a more national evolution on the issue.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.