State and federal tax laws conflict for same-sex couples
Before DOMA was struck down civil unions were not recognized as far as filing joint federal returns. Separate was not equal in this area of the federal law and could never be equal. Does this open the door for other marriage unions? I don't know, but people have already been practicing there preference. Legal or not. The states already have their own rules regulating marriage, and some still do not allow for gay marriage nor recognize them, so the superior protected class still has no rights but can now file a federal return.
The whole notion of anything goes and protected classes and superior rights smacks in the face of equality, and justifies denying federal rights to a class of people while another class of the more traditional citizens have enjoyed superior right than other's for centuries.
Why can't gay people use the term marriage and why should a definition be the exclusive domain of religion?