Gay Couples May Soon Be Able to Wed Here

Virginia could be the next state to face a challenge on its ban on same-sex marriages, thanks to legal dream team Ted Olson and David Boies, whose claim to fame is helping to reverse Proposition 8 in California. Olson and Boies, with the backing of The American Foundation for Equal Rights, will join in on a lawsuit filed by Tony London and Timothy Bostic, a gay couple from Norfolk, Virginia who were denied a marriage license in July. A ban on marriage between same-sex couples was approved by Virginia voters in 2006 and has remained in place ever since. According to Olson, Virginia is a great state to target the fight against bans on gay marriage due to the stringency of its law, "The more unfairly people are being treated, the more obvious it is that it’s unconstitutional,” he said.

Even though the Defense of Marriage Act, which sought to prevent gay marriage throughout the nation was overturned by the Supreme Court this year, the question of providing marriage licenses to same-sex couples is still determined on a state-by-state basis.

And Virginia isn't the only state fighting for the rights of same-sex couples. After banning gay conversion therapy last month, New Jersey also may be on its way to becoming the fourteenth state to legalize gay marriage.

Judge Mary Jacobson ordered New Jersey to start allowing same-sex couples to marry, citing the Supreme Court decision that overturned DOMA. Though there will likely be appeals, though Judge Jacobson might find a powerful ally in New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who has recently softened his previous opposition towards gay-marriage.

Lawsuits are also under way to challenge barriers to recognizing same-sex marriages in states like Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Michigan.

Still, marriage between couples of the same-sex is still a no-go in the most of the United States. Currently, 13 states allow gay couples to wed: Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Maryland, Washington, Delaware, Rhode Island and Minnesota.

Whether New Jersey and Virginia are next, we'll have to wait and see.