By 2012, legislatures or courts had legalized same-sex marriages in half a dozen states. Theissue now had a face and a voice—an elegant New York socialite, Edie Windsor, had marriedthe love of her life, Theda Spyer, in Canada. Theda died, and federal officials, citing DOMA,denied Edie the federal tax benefits extended to other grieving widows. The Supreme Court in2013 struck down DOMA. If states married a couple, the federal government could not treattheir marriages as second class, the Court said.

法庭和选民阻止了那些婚姻。2008年，加州一家法庭裁定同性可以结婚。选民们同样也推翻了该判决，但挑战者们推动法庭展开了一场为期12天的庭审，击败了反对婚姻平等的主张。在每一步，都有更多的同性伴侣站了出来，他们对公正的诉求变得更加清晰。

After the Windsor case, couple after couple challenged the bans in their home states; nearlytwo dozen lower courts struck them down. The issue returned to the Supreme Court in thespring of 2015. The legal rhetoric was sharp; but in the court of public opinion, the battle wasover. Polls showed a strong majority of Americans had swung to the pro-marriage equalitycamp. In June, the Supreme Court agreed with them.

到2012年，已经有6个州的议会或者法庭将同性婚姻合法化。现在这个问题有了一副面孔和一个声音——端庄优雅的纽约名媛伊迪温莎(Edie Windsor)与其一生挚爱西达斯派尔(Theda Spyer)在加拿大结婚。斯派尔过世后，美国联邦官员援引《婚姻保护法》，拒绝让温莎像其他悲伤的遗孀一样享受联邦税收优惠。最高法院在2013年裁定《婚姻保护法》违宪。该法院表示，如果一对配偶在某个州结了婚，联邦政府就不能把他们的婚姻视为低人一等。

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