Opponents of Proposition 8, the 2008 California ballot initiative that barred same-sex couples from marrying in the state, are scoring a significant victory a month before the case goes before the Supreme Court. On Thursday, officials said the Department of Justice will file a friend-of-the-court brief recommending that the high court strike down the measure.

This represents a dramatic turnaround for the Obama administration, which just last year said it would likely not wade into the protracted legal battle even after President Obama endorsed gay marriage.

NBC News:

In May, when President Obama first said that “same-sex couples should be able to get married,” he added that it was not a matter for the federal government.

But he appeared to express a different view in January during his inaugural address when he said, “Our journey is not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law, for if we are truly created equal, then surely the love we commit to one another must be equal as well.”

The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in late March to decide the fate of Proposition 8, an amendment to the state constitution approved by 52 percent of California voters in 2008. It banned same-sex marriages in the state and went into effect after 18,000 gay couples were legally married earlier that year.

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— Posted by Tracy Bloom.

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