The announcement by the Obama Justice Department that it would no longer defend the federal Defense of Marriage Act grabbed all the headlines Wednesday, John Gramlich says at Stateline.org, but it wasn’t the day’s only good news for gay rights supporters.
In Maryland, the Senate voted in favor of a bill to allow same-sex marriage, making it likely that the state will join Connecticut, four other states and the District of Columbia in allowing gay couples to marry. And in Hawaii, Gov. Neil Abercrombie signed a bill making his the seventh state to recognize civil unions.
The actions came just two months after repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” law barring gays from serving openly in the military.