Much was made of the Supreme Court's decision to hear cases involving same-sex marriage a couple of months ago. Now it appear the highest court in the land may not even rule on one of those cases.

Proposition 8 passed in California Nov. 8, 2008, and brought with it a ban on same sex marriages in the state. In 2010, however, U.S. District Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled against the measure and declared that those marriages could soon commence or be subject to more legal debate.

Since that ruling, an endless stream of lawyers has popped up to represent both sides of the debate. Eventually, the matter was pushed all the way through to the United States Supreme Court.

"It's become a cottage industry," said Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., a lawyer for Prop 8's challengers. "One would hope our opponents would say it is time to stop this fight and move on to something else."

Ultimately, the Supreme Court may not provide much clarity on the issue. Lawyers for the opponents of Prop 8 have been rumored to be preparing state officials for the possibility that the Supreme Court will throw out the case by ruling that Prop 8's supporters had no right to legally represent it in the first place.

If that were to happen, it is uncertain what that would mean for the future of Prop 8. Because the Supreme Court would not have ruled on it, the decision very well could be up to the discretion of Governor Jerry Brown.

"It would be perfectly permissible for the governor to say that this law has been held invalid, and I agree with that decision, and I will not enforce it any further," University of Pennsylvania law professor Kermit Roosevelt said.

Though that possibility appears to be a major blow to supporters of the ban on same-sex marriages, nothing is certain yet, and the state of California appears to be in limbo on the matter. Still, many lawyers are advising gay couples to continue getting married despite the uncertainty.

"People are just grasping at straws to think there is a problem," said Jon W. Davidson, legal director of Lambda Legal, a gay rights group.