Meet the Same-Sex Couples For Whom the SCOTUS Rulings on Prop 8 and DOMA have NO Effect

From Miranda Leitsinger, Staff Writer, NBC News:

Courtesy Natasha DeJesus, Jelisa Caldwell via link to nbcnews.com
Left to right, Natasha DeJesus and Jelisa Caldwell plan to wed next January in New York City instead of in their home state of Florida, which bans same-sex marriage.

While same-sex couples around the nation rejoiced over the Supreme Court’s landmark gay marriage rulings, the joy of many was tempered by the realization that the decisions would have little practical impact on their relationships because they live in one of nearly three dozen states where gays and lesbians can’t legally wed.

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“I’ve been looking at it from a realistic point of view that … in Wisconsin, it’s not going to change for us,” said Kris Travis, 42, a human resources administrator from Oshkosh, who has been in a relationship with her partner, Judi, for 16 years. “I was watching when the verdict came down and I was all excited but … it’s like, yeah for everybody else but us.”

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Chris Reay, 34, a commercial insurance broker in Houston who would be married to his partner of seven years, Hector Frias, 41, if Texas recognized it, said he, too, felt mixed emotions.

“I anticipate Texas is going to dig its heels in and whatever (Gov. Rick) Perry can do to ensure that we don’t recognize any same-sex marriages for couples, for example, who married in New York and relocated here,” he said. “We’re going to be the last, I … can feel it.”

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“This is a great win federally but now we have to focus at the state level … to get the (anti-gay marriage) amendment that’s in the Constitution of the state of Georgia reversed,” said John Fitzgivens, 49, and a senior business analyst in Atlanta.

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