Now that same-sex marriage has gotten over a major hurdle and passed in New York State in 2011, the biggest hurdle will be getting it to become a “law of the land.” On the surface it seems that gay couples will be on even footing with heterosexual married couples—but that is not the case.

Same-sex married couples are not entitled to any federal marriage benefits—Social Security spousal benefits, Military spousal benefits, Federal tax/estate tax benefits, and Health Insurance, survivor benefits for Federal workers. Now some large companies are even requiring their employees to get married if they want their partners to qualify for health insurance.

Not every gay couple feels the need to get married—just like not every heterosexual feels the need to get married—for a variety of reasons—legal, financial and personal.  We still have along way to go.