US Supreme Court to hear gay marriage cases

The US Supreme Court is to consider two landmark cases on gay marriage in back-to-back-hearings this week.

On Tuesday, the justices will weigh a California constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions, passed after gay marriage became legal there.

On Wednesday, a federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman only, for the purpose of taxes and benefits, is up for review.

The court is expected to hand down its ruling by the end of June.

Outside the court in Washington DC, dozens of people have been queuing, some of them for several days, to secure a seat for the much-anticipated hearings.

Among those in court on Tuesday will be a lesbian cousin of Chief Justice John Roberts, the Los Angeles Times reports.