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With dozens of people holding signs, rainbow colored flags and T-shirts, St. Pete residents were cheering the United States Supreme Court's decision Wednesday at Straub Park to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act and to strike down California's Prop 8. 

It was time for joy for those in attendance, but Equality Florida said Wednesday also served as a reminder of how far Florida needs to come until all are equal.

TALLAHASSEE - Landmark Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage Wednesday won’t overturn Florida’s constitutional ban on such unions.

But the court’s decisions — negating the federal Defense of Marriage Act and upholding lower court rulings invalidating California’s constitutional ban — open the possibility of future legal challenges to Florida’s prohibition against same-sex marriages. Those decisions also signal growing momentum for change, even in states with conservative leaders like Florida.

LOS ANGELES. —With cheers, tears and kisses, gays and lesbians across the United States celebrated Wednesday’s historic Supreme Court decision in support of same-sex marriage, which provided cause for joy after years of protest.

Crowds turned out in gay capitals such as West Hollywood in California, San Francisco, South Miami Beach in Florida and the New York gay bar called the Stonewall Inn, seen as the birthplace of the gay rights movement.

NEW YORK — Even as they celebrate a momentous legal victory, supporters of gay marriage already are anticipating a return trip to the Supreme Court in a few years, sensing that no other option but a broader court ruling will legalize same-sex unions in all 50 states.

In the meantime, as one gay-rights leader said, there will be “two Americas” — and a host of legal complications for many gay couples moving between them.

Wednesday's US Supreme Court rulings have been celebrated by same-sex supporters across our area.

But since gay marriage is not recognized by Florida, the fight in the Sunshine state is just beginning.

‘Equality Florida' is the state's largest LGBT civil rights organization.

‘Equality Florida' Executive Director Brian Winfield said, "This is a quantum leap forward for our whole nation."