It was one year ago today that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality in the case of the United States vs. Windsor. The high court ruled that section three of the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" was unconstitutional.
Attorney General Eric Holder submitted a report to the President, to outline what progress has been made and what work still must be done. Committed same-sex couples who are legally married in their own states can now receive federal protections - like federal tax filings, the Family Medical Leave Act, veterans' benefits, health insurance and retirement savings. The progress to implement the federal protections has taken the year, and there continues to be efforts to bring the federal government in line with the Windsor decision. Additional barriers still exist within Social Security and the Veterans Affairs Administration, who provides benefits based on the laws of individual states where couples live, including states that do not recognize marriage equality.
For states that don't yet legally recognize married same-sex couples, efforts are being renewed to challenge existing marriage bans. Already since the DOMA ruling, courts have struck down marriage bans in New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, which now have marriage equality. Other bans have been struck down and are in an appeal process, including Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Most recently, Utah and Indiana had rulings in favor of marriage equality.
On the one-year anniversary, you can listen to Edith Windsor talk to Cathy Marino-Thomas of Marriage Equality USA about ruling, and what life has been like for her over the course of this past year.
Visit www.glaad.org/marriage for some of the most recent marriage news.