On Wednesday, the Supreme Court struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in a 5–4 ruling, a big step toward equality for LGBT families.  But now that part of the discriminatory law has been ruled unconstitutional, what does it mean for same-sex couples? Lambda Legal has a thorough guide to the legal ramifications of the ruling.

Lambda cautions that the court ruling does not mean states are required to allow gay marriage, particularly as the federal government generally allows the states to determine which marriages are valid. Only Section 3 of the law, dealing with federal benefits, was struck down. Section 2 still allows states to refuse to recognize legal marriages from other states.

The law will go into effect in 25 days, but different federal agencies deal with marriage differently, and while some recognize marriages regardless of what state law says, others defer to state definitions of marriage. Some federal benefits are granted to couples only when a marriage is recognized in the state of residence. 

In states where same-sex marriage already is legal, Lambda says, the 1,100 rights and responsibilities for married couples in federal law should start applying to same-sex married couples. Legally married couples who live in states that do not recognize same-sex marriage will have access to some federal rights and benefits, depending on whether or not each particular agency requires the state of residence to recognize the marriage. Many agencies already recognize marriages based on where they took place, not where the couple lives. Lambda argues the president has a lot of leeway in moving federal agencies toward this more inclusive standard.

Most importantly, Lambda advises that individuals should seek legal advice from an attorney familiar with the state they live in before taking any action based on the Supreme Court ruling.

Lambda has a thorough series of fact sheets to give advice on what the ruling does in a wide variety of rights and responsibilities, including:

• Private employment issues and benefits,
• Benefits and protections for civilian federal employees and their spouses,
• Family and Medical Leave Act for non-federal employees ,
• Federal taxes ,
• The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) ,
• Immigration,
• Medicaid,
• Social Security and family protections,
• Military spousal benefits ,
• Veteran spousal benefits ,
• Supplemental Security Income for Aged, Blind and Disabled (SSI) ,
• Medicare spousal protections,
• Bankruptcy, and
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) .