[JURIST] The Attorney General of Guam [official website] on Wednesday directed officials to begin processing same-sex marriage applications. The action by Attorney General Elizabeth Barrett-Anderson comes two weeks after a same-sex couple brought a suit in the US territory challenging its marriage law [press release, PDF] upon being denied a license. The Department of Public Health and Social Services of Guam (DPHSS) [official website] has refused the attorney general’s request to process same-sex marriage applications until a legal opinion is released addressing the issue. Barrett-Anderson stated [AP report] that the DPHSS should treat “all same gender marriage applicants with dignity and equality under the Constitution.” If Guam moves forward in processing the applications it will become the first US territory to allow same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage [JURIST backgrounder] is currently legal in 37 states and the District of Columbia but continues to be a controversial issue. In March Puerto Rican officials announced [JURIST report] that Puerto Rico is ending its defense of a same-sex marriage ban. The US Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on the issue later this month. The court agreed in January to take the case, granting certiorari [JURIST report] in four cases. The court consolidated appeals from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee after the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld bans [JURIST report] in those states.