Where and how far? “The Supreme Court’s decision on Wednesday, in United States v. Windsor, to declare that the Defense of Marriage Act violated the Constitution went further than the federal government ever has in extending equal rights to same-sex couples,” the New York Times reports. “But it left untouched the thicket of conflicting state and local laws that deny gays and lesbians in the vast majority of states the benefits and legal recognition that marriage provides.” At a press conference this morning in Senegal, President Obama said it was his “personal belief” that “if you’ve been married in Massachusetts and move some place else, you’re still married and that under federal law, you should be able to obtain the benefits of any lawfully married couple. But again I’m speaking as a president and not a lawyer.”
Not giving up. “A group of conservative House Republicans blasted the decisions on same-sex marriage issued Wednesday by the Supreme Court as legally inconsistent and detrimental to the future of the nation’s children,” the Washington Post notes. “One lawmaker pledged to soon file a constitutional amendment to reinstate the Defense of Marriage Act.” NBC News notes that the “varying reactions” to Wednesday’s decision highlights “the party’s challenge in navigating an issue that has growing public support but remains deeply unpopular within much of the GOP.”
What about Wendy? Texas legislator Wendy Davis has had a fast rise to stardom after her marathon fillibuster against an anti-abortion law, and the Democrat confirmed Wednesday evening on All In that she’d “be lying” if she didn’t admit she has statewide political ambitions. But as Roll Call notes, her path to statewide office isn’t as easy as it seems, and “the state’s Republican lean may put a ceiling on her immediate political future — at least in 2014.
Jessica Taylor