The Supreme Court “returns to the subject of same-sex marriage for a second day on Wednesday, when the justices hear arguments about the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act of 1996,” the New York Times reports.

“The 1996 law defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman for purposes of more than 1,000 federal laws and programs, and it thus excludes married same-sex couples from benefits to which their opposite-sex counterparts are entitled.”

Washington Post: “The Obama administration has said that it will not defend the law, known as DOMA, and lower courts have said it is unconstitutional to deny federal benefits to same-sex couples who are legally married in the states where they live while offering the same benefits to opposite-sex married couples.”

Wonk Wire has an overview of the case.

Dan Balz: “If justices on the Supreme Court sounded cautious and tentative as they addressed the issue of same-sex marriage Tuesday, it’s little wonder. Like everyone else in public life, they are operating in the middle of a political whirlwind.”

“The political and legal systems are caught between past and future. Public opinion has shifted rapidly, and a majority of Americans now back legalizing same-sex marriage. Among those younger than 40, support is overwhelming. The question is when and in what form the future arrives.”

Roll Call: The 12 best moments at the Supreme Court today.

“As the Supreme Court on Tuesday weighed the very meaning of marriage, several justices seemed to have developed a case of buyer’s remorse about the case before them,” the New York Times reports. “Some wondered aloud if the court had moved too fast to address whether gay and lesbian couples have a constitutional right to marry.”

The Washington Post notes the justices “wondered openly about whether it was time for the court to render a judgment.”

Tom Goldstein sees two possible scenarios with the upshot being “a modest step forward for gay rights advocates, but not a dramatic one. The Court would stay its hand for some time for society to develop its views further. But combined with a potentially significant ruling in the DOMA case being argued tomorrow, the Term will likely nonetheless end up as very significant to gay rights.”

Adam Winkler: Beware of early predictions on what the court will do.

A new CBS News poll finds support for legalizing gay marriage is at 53% to 39%, with 33% of those who support marriage equality saying they once held the opposite view.

Meanwhile, Greg Sargent notes a “sharp generational divide” among Republicans on the issue. Overall, 56% of Republicans oppose legal gay marriage. But among Republicans under 50, a plurality of 49% supports gay marriage, versus only 46% who oppose it.

Nate Silver forecasts that a national referendum to approve same-sex marriage “would have narrowly failed last year, 48% to 52%, despite national polls showing more voters approving same-sex marriage than opposing it. For right now, it is probably best to treat the question of whether a majority of Americans support same-sex marriage as having an ambiguous answer. Polls are on the verge of saying that they do, but the ballot results are more equivocal.”

“By 2016, however, voters in 32 states would be willing to vote in support of same-sex marriage, according to the model. And by 2020, voters in 44 states would do so, assuming that same-sex marriage continues to gain support at roughly its previous rate.”