For the first time ever this week, the Supreme Court will seriously consider the issue of gay marriage in the United States over the course of two separate cases.

The possible ramifications of the Supreme Court's ruling have never been bigger for the LGBT community. This will be the first time that America will be able to hear a definitive ruling on the issue of gay marriage from the highest court in the land. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of gay rights this week, it would represent a milestone that would give the gay marriage movement a full head of steam moving forward.

First up on their docket, and the more promising case of the two, is the issue of California's Proposition 8. Approved by 52% of voters, Prop 8 amended the state's constitution in order to ban same sex marriages there. It came in response to California's allowance of gay marriage and subsequent recognition of over 18,000 same-sex marriages there.

So far, two separate courts have found the ban to be unconstitutional, and the Supreme Court is the last resort for Prop 8 supporters. The lower courts have already decreed that once a state allows for a fundamental right such as marriage, that right cannot be taken away later, even by a public vote. Supporters of Prop 8 believe that it is the state's right to distinguish between homo- and hetero-sexual marriages because the latter is the only one capable of reproducing.

"This indisputable difference between same-sex and opposite-sex relationships demonstrates that Proposition 8 is constitutional, for the Constitution requires only that a state treat similarly situated persons similarly," notes one legal brief filed with the court.

Though the White House largely kept a quiet indifference to the issue of gay marriage early on during Barack Obama's presidency, but in recent years it has become more vocal in its support of same-sex marriages.

Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. has already requested that the Supreme Court strike down Proposition 8, with implications spreading to seven other states. He argued that Prop 8 violates the Constitution's equal protection clause. President Obama has also been vocal in his support for gay lately:

"When it comes to marriage, the basic principle that America is founded on -- the idea that we're all created equal -- applies to everybody regardless of sexual orientation," he said at a White House news conference this month.

The second case at hand is a challenge of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that was signed by President Clinton in 1996 and bans federal recognition of same-sex marriages and the rights that come with them. The act has lost a lot of support over the years, with even President Clinton now agreeing that it is unconstitutional. The challenge comes from the case of Edith of Windsor, and would not approve gay marriage so much as it would disallow banning it. For this reason, it is not expected to have as much of an impact as the ruling on Prop 8.