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First Posted: 6/26/2013 MONROE TWP. &#8212; While the gay community across the nation celebrated Wednesday&#8217;s U.S. Supreme Court rulings, David Michaels Jr. of the Beaumont area wondered how his life will change.
Michaels and his partner, Stephen Cheskiewicz, were married nine years ago in Massachusetts. They have been together for 27 years, yet they can&#8217;t file a joint federal tax return.
John Dawe, the NEPA Rainbow Alliance executive director and board secretary of Equality Pennsylvania, said the rulings represent &#8220;an enormous victory and for equal justice under the law.
&#8220;At least in the 13 states and the District of Columbia, where marriage equality is in place,&#8221; Dawe said. &#8220;But it is important to note that 37 states, including Pennsylvania, still treat gay and lesbian citizens and their children as unequal and second-class. In fact, it is still legal to fire someone for being gay in Pennsylvania.&#8221;
Cheskiewicz and Michaels, both 49, said the gay movement has come a long way in the last 10 years. They said the rulings will help in the fight to get all 50 states to acknowledge same-sex unions.
&#8220;We&#8217;re not far from this becoming a non-issue,&#8221; Michaels said. &#8220;Today can change a lot of stuff. We just don&#8217;t know how or when.&#8221;
Cheskiewicz, a professor at Keystone College in La Plume, said Michaels is on his health insurance because Keystone has a domestic partner benefit package.
&#8220;The fact that this ruling doesn&#8217;t apply to us is just unfair,&#8221; Cheskiewicz said.
&#8220;Nobody can tell anybody who to love,&#8221; Michaels said. &#8220;If you&#8217;re happy, you&#8217;re happy.&#8221;
Cheskiewicz said after their marriage became public knowledge, they received hundreds of cards, letters and notes from people they didn&#8217;t know.
&#8220;Awareness is the key,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve received so many positive messages.&#8221;
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton, released a statement stating the high court &#8220;made the right decision&#8221; in striking down the Defense of Marriage Act.
Bittersweet ruling
In response to the decisions, Ted Martin, executive director of Equality Pennsylvania, the state&#8217;s leading advocacy organization for gay and transgender people, said the striking down of DOMA &#8220;brings about a joyous day for loving, married couples and their families.&#8221;
But how do the rulings affect Pennsylvanians and gay people living in the 37 states that don&#8217;t recognize same-sex marriage?
&#8220;It doesn&#8217;t,&#8221; Martin said. &#8220;That&#8217;s the bittersweet part of the ruling. As an American, this is a great day. The Supreme Court struck down a lot that was hateful and discriminatory. As a Pennsylvanian, there&#8217;s still a lot of work to be done.&#8221;
That work, Martin said, needs to be done in Harrisburg. He said the state legislature &#8220;has failed to act&#8221; and &#8220;needs to act now.&#8221;
Martin said the Supreme Court &#8220;affirmed that all loving and committed couples who marry deserve equal legal respect and treatment.&#8221;
At this time, same-sex couples can legally marry in 13 states and Washington, D.C. The court&#8217;s rulings assure all of these families now have access to comprehensive federal and state protections to take care of the ones they love
&#8220;However, 37 states &#8212; including Pennsylvania &#8212; still treat gay and lesbian citizens and their children as unequal and second-class,&#8221; Martin said. &#8220;But work to win the freedom to marry here in the commonwealth will continue.&#8221;
U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Moosic, said both California&#8217;s Proposition 8 and the Defense of Marriage Act became &#8220;symbols of discrimination&#8221; around the country and around the world.
&#8220;Today, &#8216;equality for all&#8217; prevailed,&#8221; he said.
Cartwright said DOMA treated loving, committed gay and lesbian couples as a separate and lesser class of people. &#8220;The Supreme Court has righted that wrong, and our country is better off for it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;For married couples living in states that do not recognize their marriages, however, there is still uncertainty.&#8221;
Cartwright said the federal government must ensure that these couples receive full range of federal agency and federal policy recognition and respect that they deserve. He urged the administration to provide policy and administrative clarity and take every possible step to ensure fair treatment.
Bishop issues statement
Bishop Joseph C. Bambera, leader of the Diocese of Scranton, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court&#8217;s rulings:
&#8220;The U.S. Supreme Court&#8217;s decision striking down part of the Defense of the Marriage Act and refusing to rule on the merits of a challenge to California&#8217;s Proposition 8 is unfortunate and disappointing. This decision clearly opposes the Catholic Church&#8217;s belief and teaching that the sacrament of marriage, rooted in natural law, is a faithful, exclusive, life-long loving union of a man and a woman open to the transmission of human life. The dual purpose of marriage: the unity and love of a man and a woman, and procreation has been embedded in human history long before any religion, nation or law was established.&#8221;

Locally, decision is seen as ‘bittersweet’