Now that Florida has made the number of states that recognize same-sex marriage an even three dozen, perhaps it’s time the Supreme Court weighed in on the matter.

On Friday, Supreme Court justices will meet in private to consider whether to act on cases that could provide a nationwide answer on whether same-sex marriages must be allowed. On the same day, a federal appeals court will consider bans in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana.

“It’s an incredible confluence of events,” said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights. “It’s the culmination of many years of work.”

The marriages in Florida and the potential for a constitutional decision by the Supreme Court this year reflect the rapid advance of the same-sex-marriage movement and a remarkable change in public opinion. When the court heard oral arguments about California’s Proposition 8 and the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 2013, only nine states and the District allowed such unions.

Hey, see that smudge of smoke out there on the horizon?  Yeah, that’s the Love Boat heading out on the Sea of Love.

But then we don’t want the Supremes to get too far ahead of themselves.  After all, Clarence Thomas and Antonin Scalia are still working on the idea that slavery is bad.