Wolfson sees renewed cause for optimism—not that his own has flagged—in light of the eloquent and well-reasoned opinion of Vaughn R. Walker, Chief Judge of the United States District Court of the Northern District of California, calling for the restitution of the right of gay and lesbian couples to wed in that state, a right of which they were deprived by the passage of Proposition 8 in 2008.

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"What's happening here," Wolfson commented to Sandhya Somashekar of the Washington Post, "is the collapsing of the house of cards that the anti-gay opposition has relied on. . . . Everyone can now see the emptiness of the arguments that they are making."

Wolfson takes inspiration from the words of Gandhi on the process of change: "First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you win."

Wolfson and his partner (now husband), Cheng He, a Canadian-born microbiologist, reside in New York.

Fittingly, Wolfson and Freedom to Marry were deeply involved in the successful struggle to achieve marriage equality in the Empire State.

Freedom to Marry became a founding member of the New Yorkers United for Marriage coalition, which was put together by Governor Andrew Cuomo to forge a coherent strategy to build support for marriage equality in the state.

Freedom to Marry invested over $1,000,000 in the campaign, including more than $500,000 for television, newspaper ads, and direct mail, and over $100,000 in polling, all aimed at making sure legislators heard from the couples affected, their loved ones, and the 58% of New Yorkers who support the freedom to marry.

When the New York legislature finally passed the marriage equality bill in a historic vote on June 24, 2011, Wolfson issued the following statement: "With the freedom to marry in New York, the nationwide majority for marriage will swell, as even more people get to see why marriage matters to same-sex couples, that gay couples, like non-gay, treasure the chance to affirm and strengthen their commitment, and that ending marriage discrimination helps families and hurts no one."

He added: "We are especially grateful for Governor Cuomo's strategic and passionate leadership in advancing this bill. He worked tirelessly with Freedom to Marry and other advocates to secure the votes we needed to win. No governor has ever worked harder or more strategically to advance marriage legislation."

Wolfson and Dr. Cheng He were married in New York City on October 15, 2011. They have been a couple since 2002. In an interview with Nate Schweber ofthe New York Times for a feature story on their marriage, Wolfson said, "For me, getting married is not about making a political statement; it's about wanting to build a life together, wanting to have protections for one another, wanting to make a commitment in front of your family and friends, just like everyone else."

Vermont's Civil Union law conferred all the rights, benefits, and responsibilities of marriage on same-sex couples.

"Domestic partnership" is the generic term for a variety of forms of legal and institutional recognition of same-sex couples that fall short of same-sex marriage.

Lesbian and gay couples have been fighting for the freedom to marry since the dawn of the modern glbtq struggle for equality; despite some success abroad, progress toward same-sex marriage in the United States has been slow.

Sodomy laws, which provided the legal basis for police harassment of sexual minorities, were conclusively overturned by the United States Supreme Court in 2003, after more than half a century of efforts at reform.

For more than four decades, the ACLU has been at the forefront of litigation and education designed to secure glbtq rights on a variety of fronts.

American attorney Mary Bonauto, civil rights project director at Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, has won major rulings that have brought the promise of equal rights nearer to reality.

John Boswell was one of the late twentieth century's most influential historians of homosexuality and author of one of the first book-length histories on the subject.

Two of the most significant Supreme Court decisions regarding constitutional liberty for glbtq people are Bowers v. Hardwick (1986) and Lawrence v. Texas (2003).

The Boy Scouts of America, formed to rehabilitate masculinity in the early twentieth century, has constantly seen itself as under attack or at least challenged by homosexuality or effeminacy, and its official policy excluding homosexuals has recently led to several legal and social challenges.

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) authorizes states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages or domestic partnerships or civil unions and it requires that federal bureaus and agencies recognize only opposite-sex marriages.

New England's leading legal organization dedicated to equal justice for glbtq individuals and families, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) provides litigation, advocacy, and educational work in all areas of glbtq civil rights.

Chad Griffin co-founded the American Foundation for Equal Rights to sponsor a legal challenge to Proposition 8; in June 2012, he assumed the helm of the Human Rights Campaign.

Chris Hughes, one of the founders of the social networking site Facebook, also spearheaded the social networking efforts of the 2008 Obama campaign; he and his partner Sean Eldridge are activists for marriage equality.

The largest glbtq legal advocacy group in the United States, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund has been fighting for the civil rights of queer Americans and people with HIV/AIDS for over three decades.

Founded in 1977 as the Lesbian Rights Project, the National Center for Lesbian Rights is a public interest law firm committed to advancing the civil and human rights of glbtq people through litigation, advocacy, and education.

Proposition 8, also known as the California Marriage Protection Act, is the ballot proposition that amended the California state constitution to ban same-sex marriage; it is the subject of ongoing litigation that may restore marriage equality to California.

In 2001, Anthony D. Romero became the first Latino and first openly gay man to lead the American Civil Liberties Union, the nation's leading public interest law firm.