In Washington, the state Supreme Court is expected to rule on same-sex marriage this year.
Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts remains restricted to state residents. To ensure that, Gov. Romney invoked an obscure 1913 statute to prevent couples from out of state from marrying here.
Despite the repercussions, GLAD lawyer Mary Bonauto -- who argued the court case that changed the law in Massachusetts -- said the cause of same-sex marriage had advanced since the first marriage licenses were issued last May.
"Of course there are going to be obstacles," she said. "There are going to be obstacles for years and years. No social justice struggle has ever been won in a day, or even a year. What is important is that we are moving forward."
In the last year, same-sex marriage licenses were issued in every Massachusetts county and at least 290 of the 351 cities and towns. Nearly twice as many female couples took out marriage licenses as male couples.
For Marcia Hamm and Susan Shepherd, what was important was a new sense of affirmation. Partners for 27 years, Hamm and Shepherd camped outside Cambridge City Hall for 24 hours last May, determined to become the country's first same-sex couple to get a valid marriage license.
Unlike many same-sex couples, Hamm, 58, said she and Shepherd, 53, never had a commitment ceremony.
They did not wear wedding rings until they traded marriage vows.
Before marriage, she said, they sometimes had trouble explaining their family situation.
Their son Peter, 25, often told his hockey teammates that Hamm was his mother and Shepherd, his aunt; now he calls them both Mom.
Their first year of marriage has been "just wonderful," Hamm said. "And the surprise is that it has felt so different to be married, even after all these years."
