The recent Supreme Court lesbian and gay rights decision is expected to help lesbians and gay men win a wide range of civil rights, according to Lambda Legal Defense Fund, the nation’s oldest and largest gay rights legal organization.

In May the Supreme Court, in Romer v. Evans, said that Colorado’s constitutional amendment that prohibited gays and lesbians from ever being covered by anti-discrimination laws was unconstitutional. The Colorado anti-gay initiative was passed by state-wide initiative in 1992. This ruling affects not only the 29 cities and counties which have passed similar anti-gay initiatives, but also has a profound impact on many other gay-rights issues, such as employment discrimination, same-sex marriage, military discrimination, and gay-bashing in schools.

The Supreme Court said that lesbians and gay men could not be singled out for discrimination. The Court’s majority opinion, written by Justice Anthony Kennedy, referred to the U.S. Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause (14th Amendment) in striking down the Colorado amendment, saying that the Colorado amendment "has the peculiar property of imposing a broad and undifferentiated disability on a single named group, an exceptional and invalid form of legislation." Because of the reason behind this ruling, gay rights groups are hopeful that this same argument can help them strike down laws that do not allow same-sex marriage, get rid of the "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy in the military, prevent children of lesbian or gay couples from being taken away from them just because the parents are gay, and challenge anti-gay violence in school.

Romer v. Evans "is the single most positive Supreme Court ruling in the history of the gay rights movement," said Lambda Legal Defense Fund. Still, only 19 states have passed some sort of civil rights protection for lesbians and gay men. "This ruling simply leaves us free to continue the fight for anti-discrimination laws in our states, cities and towns."

Opponents to lesbian and gay marriage have passed bills in 14 states to ban gay marriage. In Congress, a bill called the "Defense of Marriage Act" would allow federal and state governments to ignore any legal same-sex marriage that takes place in another state. Hawaii may in a few years become the first state to allow same-sex couples to legally marry. President Clinton has indicated he may sign the "Defense of Marriage Act."