Gay Marriage Will Be Law of Land in 5 Years: Advocates

When gay marriage advocates finish celebrating yesterday's Supreme Court rulings, a sobering bit of reality is bound to sink in: The nation now has a confusing patchwork of state and federal laws that often conflict with each other, reports the New York Times. Consider a gay couple that marries in one state and retires in another; or the couple whose marriage is recognized within their military base in Mississippi but not in Mississippi itself. One possible solution: The Human Rights Campaign vows to make gay marriage legal in all 50 states within five years, reports the Los Angeles Times. For now, the immediate game plan is to roll out campaigns in Illinois, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, and Hawaii in the coming months to try to increase the number of states where gay marriage is legal.

But ultimately, it's a good bet that this is going back to the Supreme Court for a definitive ruing on whether gay marriage is a constitutional right, reports the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, Congress may have to clarify rules to accommodate the DOMA decision, making sure that gay couples get their federal benefits. But at least one House conservative hopes to clarify things in the opposite direction: Tim Huelskamp plans to file a constitutional amendment within a week to reinstate DOMA, reports the Washington Post. President Obama, meanwhile, touched on the overall issue today in Africa, notes Poltico: “It’s my personal belief—and I’m speaking now as a president [not] as a lawyer—if you’re married in Massachusetts and you move someplace else, you’re still married." But he cautioned that White House lawyers were still unraveling yesterday's decisions. (More gay marriage stories.)