Although certain aspects of DOMA were declared unconstitutional, it still leaves it up to the states exercise discrimination into policy, which once enacted can be a very difficult and lengthy process to overturn.

Currently seventeen states allow same sex marriage, six of them mandated by the court, eight by the state legislature, and three by popular vote.Ten states hold some form of protection for same sex couples less than marriage, like domestic partnerships or civil unions. Thirty-three states have gay marriage bans, some of which include defining marriage as between a man and a woman in their state constitutions, according to Pro Con.

Vermont was at the forefront of marriage equality in the year 2000. Although it didn't go as far as recognizing gay marriage, it was the first state to introduce some form of recognition for same sex couples with civil unions. Vermont has since recognized gay marriage, and was the first state to do so in the legislature in 2009. Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage through a court mandate in 2003 after the court ruled it unconstitutional, and Connecticut, Iowa, California, and New Jersey quickly followed suit.

Introducing civil unions was a way for the States to give recognition and most of the same rights to same sex couples, without upsetting the ideals of traditional marriage, but with DOMA in action it essentially erased those rights, which is why many States found themselves in a bind constitutionally, and many people filed suits against the legislature.

The states that do not recognize same sex marriage have done so by a state law prohibiting it, by a constitutional amendment, or by both. A majority of the thirty-three states that have a gay marriage ban have both an amendment recognizing marriage as between a man and a woman, and a state law prohibiting it.

The process of repealing this a ban and a constitutional amendment is a long one. For example Wisconsin, who has had state law banning gay marriage since 1979, voted in 2006 to make a constitutional amendment against gay marriage. The state’s citizens and the American Civil Liberties Union have begun the process of overturning this; however, it would take a bill passing in the legislature twice before being placed on a ballot and up for a vote again. And even then it could still not pass if people do not vote in it’s favor. This process could easily take years.

Despite the thirty-three states with bans, public support of gay marriage is higher than ever. According to a Washington Post ABC News Poll, 58 percent of Americans believe that gay marriage should be legalized, with only 36 percent opposing it. Of course it would be much easier for the federal government to step in and make gay marriage legal across the board, but the likelihood of that happening is very slim. Especially given that many states have flip flopped on this issue. California is a prime example of that with the back and forth and repealing and protesting surrounding Proposition 8.