In late June the Supreme Court of the United States issued a
decision striking down some, but not all, of the Defense of
Marriage Act (DOMA). The Court found the language in DOMA
defining marriage as between "one man and one woman" to
be unconstitutional. This means that, as far as the federal
government is concerned, same-sex marriages performed in states or
countries where same-sex marriage is legally recognized will be
treated as legal marriages.
However, the Court reserved the right for states where same-sex
marriage is not recognized to continue to refrain from recognizing
same-sex marriages performed in other states where such marriages
are recognized. Currently only thirteen states (plus the
District of Columbia) expressly allow same-sex marriages:
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island,
Vermont, and Washington. So, for example, a state such as
Tennessee, where same-sex
