I know that a lot of Midwestern states have defense against marriage acts that define marriage as between a man and a woman. Now, if that state wanted to have gay marriage would they have to overturn the defense against marriage act first or could they just allow gay marriage. I don't have a big understanding of this so I'm sorry if this post made no sense.
First off, i read the title as "Defense Against Dark Arts" duuuuuuur... Secondly, you have to overturn that before you can have gay marriage yes. BUT you can have Civil Unions still? Not that a Civil Union is going to do much for equality, but rights are rights?
I think it's DOMA (Defence Of Marriage Act) I don't know if they'd have to over turn it first but if they did they would most likely overturn it and allow gay marriage at the same time instead of on two separate occasions.
1) Yes, a state's DOMA (or same-sex marriage ban in general) must be overturned in order to recognize same-sex marriage in that state. If it is a statute (like in Iowa), it can be overturned by a court decision. If it's a constitutional amendment (like in California), the voters have to overturn it (some states will require more than just a simple majority). 2) Some states included any recognition of same-sex couples (civil unions, domestic partnerships, etc.) in their DOMA (such as Nebraska). So no, not all states can have civil unions without overturning their DOMA. 3) Because of the Federal DOMA, no civil unions/same-sex marriages performed in states currently allowing them are recognized by the federal government. That can be overturned by the legislature (the current Democratic majorities should be enough to overturn it, if they ever care enough to do it.).
It can also be overturned by the Supremes, if they decide it violates one or more clauses of the constitution. That's what this new lawsuit, filed at the federal level the day after the California decision was announced, is about. The risk is that if the Supremes decide that the federal law is constitutional, it could push back the gay marriage movement by decades, and that's why many people have been against taking it to the federal level, at least until Obama can replace some of the wingnuts currently on the court. So it's a risky strategy, but if it's successful, it could clear the way and open the door to require federal recognition of gay marriages, as well as sweep away all of the state Defense of Marriage acts at the same time.