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"Now that the Supreme Court has ruled to extend federal marriage benefits to same-sex couples in the 12 states where gay marriage is legal\u2014plus California\u2014about 30 percent of Americans live in states that recognize same-sex marriage (a record number). However, 29 states still prohibit gay marriage, plus a handful of moderate states like Oregon and Nevada, so LGBT Americans are setting their eyes on the prize, reports Boston.com: Nationwide gay marriage. Spokespeople on the side of &amp;quot;Love is love&amp;quot; say that Wednesday&amp;#039;s ruling has created &amp;quot;two Americas&amp;quot; \u2014 one conservative side that opposes gay marriage, one liberal side that embraces it (not exactly &amp;quot;United we stand,&amp;quot; y&amp;#039;all) \u2014 and unfairly forces its gay citizens to navigate between each side. Human Rights Campaign officer Chad Griffin told the press outside the courthouse on Wednesday that the goal was to bring same-sex marriage issue to nationwide acceptance within the next five years. Nate Silver predicts that the rate of gay marriage in America will double within this year. Additionally, the ACLU is putting together a team to stop GOP state pundits from firewalling this new legislature as well as creating new bans on same-sex marriage. Said its exective director Anthony Romero: &amp;quot;For a full civil liberties victory, we need broad-based support from coast to coast.&amp;quot; While it&amp;#039;s just a start for these organizations, the Supreme Court&amp;#039;s ruling has changed the lives of many LGBT citizens, particularly those in California. Within the last 24 hours, Chopped host Ted Allen and singer Melissa Etheridge both announced their engagements to their long-term partners. Even hetero couples like Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard \u2014 whose nuptials were on hold until there were big moves on the gay marriage front \u2014 are now affianced. (Plus: No more excuses for Brangelina.) Follow Anna on Twitter. Image via rafaelmedinabrochero.com "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.cosmopolitan.com/politics/news/a13679/gay-marriage-national-supreme-court/>