The issue focused on states that had laws protecting marriage only from one man and one woman. The legal systems of those states were considered by the federal government to be void.

As a result, same-sex marriages would not be recognized in these states. If two men or two women married in one of these states, they could not receive federal benefits as spouses. And if they wanted to adopt children, they would have to follow state adoption laws.

When President Obama announced his support for marriage equality last