Does the recent good news about gay marriage make you want to say “I do”?
Getting legally married can be tremendously meaningful for your relationship and commitment to each other. But it also brings complicated legal consequences, especially since Georgia bans same-sex marriage and will not recognize such marriages from out of state.
You also still will not receive the federal benefits of marriage, because President Obama’s decision to no longer defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act does not automatically overturn DOMA. That will have to come from Congress or the courts.
In the meantime, Lambda Legal recommends that you consider these issues before traveling to another jurisdiction to marry your same-sex partner.
After a 2010 with few marriage equality measures contested outside the courtroom, 2011 will likely see a number of battles state by state across the country.
On Jan. 18, the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal to the law allowing gay couples to marry in Washington, D.C.
Still, two states face the prospect of losing marriage equality, an additional seven states could start the process of amending their state constitutions to ban marriage equality, and five could gain marriage equality.
Iowa voters removed three state Supreme Court justices who voted in 2009 to overturn the state’s ban on gay marriage. According to the Associated Press, it was the first time that Iowa voters had successfully voted to remove a Supreme Court justice.
The National Organization for Marriage, an anti-gay group that was formed in response to California’s Proposition 8 battle in 2008, lobbied on behalf of the removal of the justices. NOM, in partnership with Campaign for Working Families PAC and Iowa for Freedom, purchased ads in the state leading up to the election urging voters to remove the justices.