[We are at the Supreme Court again today awaiting decisions -- if an announcement is made we will post a statement here shortly after. -Ed.]

Ryan Anderson at Heritage's The Foundry blog:

(Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

Next week the Supreme Court will decide two cases dealing with the definition of marriage.

One concerns the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which defines marriage for the purposes of federal law as the union of one man and one woman. President Clinton signed DOMA into law after Congress passed it by overwhelming bipartisan majorities in 1996. The other case concerns Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment approved by California voters in 2008 defining marriage for state purposes as the union of one man and one woman.

At stake is whether citizens and their elected representatives have the constitutional authority to make laws that reflect the truth about marriage.

Here are five things you need to know:

1. Courts Shouldn’t Redefine Marriage

The U.S. Constitution does not require redefining marriage. Unelected judges should not usurp the authority of citizens and their elected representatives to discuss, debate and vote on important policy matters. In a Heritage Legal Memorandum, John Eastman explains why marriage laws are constitutional.

Read the other four things you need to know here.