News release:  Marriage rulings make federal protections available for up to 114,000 legally married same-sex couples nationwide and open marriage to CA’s estimated 1.1 million LGBT adults

“The Supreme Court’s rulings regarding the federal Defense of Marriage Act in United States v. Windsor and regarding California’s Proposition 8 in Hollingsworth v. Perry have important social, economic and legal consequences for the nation’s approximately 650,000 same-sex couples living in shared households, of which an estimated 114,100 are legally married.  Federal recognition of same-sex couples’ marriages may affect how same-sex couples are treated in relation to a range of federal policies, including immigration, taxation and benefits.  Further, the Williams Institute estimates that, over the next three years, 37,000 California same-sex couples are likely to marry and the state economy will gain approximately $492 million in new business revenue from same-sex couples’ weddings.”