Supreme Court Gay Marriage.JPG

A line forms outside the courthouse in Washington, D.C. on March 26 as people wait to hear the U.S. Supreme Court arguments on gay marriage. A decision is expected today.

(The Associated Press)

Washington -- The U.S. Supreme Court today is expected to hand down rulings in two high-profile gay marriage cases that could expand the rights of gays and lesbians across the nation.

In Windsor v. United States, the court is expected to rule whether the federal Defense of Marriage Act (which defines marriage as between a man and woman) violates the constitutional rights of same-sex couples.

Among those paying close attention to the court will be Wall Street financial institutions, which have supported same-sex marriage initiatives while looking for clarity about how to best advise their clients, Politico reports today.

In a second case, Perry v. Hollingsworth, the Supreme Court is expected to decide whether California voters discriminated against gay people when they voted for Proposition 8 to ban same-sex marriage.

Both of Central New York's House members (U.S. Reps. Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt, and Richard Hanna, R-Barneveld) signed legal briefs filed with the Supreme Court arguing that gay people have a constitutional right to marry. Hanna was one of only two Republican members of Congress to sign the brief in February.

The Washington Post today published an interactive chart showing how the Supreme Court decision could affect individual states.

Update 2 p.m.

The Supreme Court did not hand down a ruling today. More rulings are expected Tuesday morning, and some court experts now say the gay-marriage rulings could be among the last to be issued later this week.

Contact Mark Weiner at mweiner@syracuse.com or 571-970-3751. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWeinerDC