Pride for Youth Director 'Thrilled' with DOMA Decision

The Supreme Court has ruled that the federal government cannot deny legally married same-sex couples the same federal benefits enjoyed by heterosexual couples, striking down in a 5-4 ruling the Defense of Marriage Act.

The much-anticipated ruling announced Wednesday means the federal government must recognize gay marriages in the 12 states in the U.S. that have legalized gay marriages, including in New York.

"We're thrilled," said Pete Carney, director of Pride for Youth, a center in Bellmore that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth. "We were very hopeful that things would work out the way they did but there were no guarantees." 

Carney said he is excited at how much progress has been made with gay rights in the last decade and attributes much of it for today's LGBT youth not being afraid to come out of the closet. Pride for Youth, which is affiliated with the Long Island Crisis Center, runs programs for LBGT young people between the ages of 13 and 30. 

"All of this progress comes from the efforts of each LBGT person standing up and saying who they are and being proud of it," he said. "We are not here to be accepted or to be tolerated, we are here to be celebrated."