The fight for gay rights won important victories in the past few months. In July, it became legal for same-sex couples to marry in New York State. September saw the official end of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prevented gay people from serving openly in the military. On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would repeal the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, the law that bars the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

If only this were the whole picture. But this remains a country where discrimination against gays is enshrined in most state constitutions. While all the Democrats on the Senate committee supported repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, the chances of repeal anytime soon are very slim. And even if Congress got rid of the act, the ban against same-sex marriage — a denial of equal rights to an entire group of Americans — would still be the law in most parts of the nation.

Twenty-nine states have enacted constitutional amendments blocking same-sex marriage. In 18 of those states, the amendments also ban domestic partnerships or civil unions. Twelve states bar same-sex marriage by statute, and in two, Minnesota and North Carolina, anti-gay-marriage constitutional amendments will go before voters next year. At this point, nearly 60 percent of Americans live in places that do not protect gay couples in any way.

Full Story from The New York Times

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