As gay rights spotlight shifts to Sochi, sides square off back in the U.S.

Gay rights supports crowded outside the Supreme Court in June, 2013, awaiting word on the fate of the Defense of Marriage Act. Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post/Getty Images

One week before the Winter Olympics were set to begin in Sochi, 40 human rights groups sent a letter to the games top American sponsors, urging them to pressure Russia to address its anti-gay policies.

Discrimination has no place in the Olympics, and LGBT people must not be targeted with violence or deprived of their ability to advocate for their own equality, they wrote. As all eyes turn toward Sochi, we ask you to stand with us.

One of letters signatories was the Human Rights Campaign, an advocacy organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans. HRC focuses on grassroots efforts to promote equality in the United States and was a driving force behind the gay rights movement in 2013.

Well look back and see 2013 as yet another major step forward, recognizing that we still have a long way to go, said the HRCs Legal Director, Brian Moulton.

Supporters of same-sex marriage in the U.S. celebrated some major victories in 2013. In June, the Supreme Court ruled on two landmark cases. The high court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), expanding federal benefits to same-sex couples, and sent the case surrounding a statewide gay-marriage ban back to California, effectively legalizing gay marriage in that state.

Moulton said the the DOMA decision was groundbreaking but acknowledged that the Supreme Court stopped short of addressing statewide bans on same-sex marriage by dismissing Californias Proposition 8 case. He said the court will likely address bans in the near future, considering that there are two dozen other lawsuits filed in federal courts challenging state amendments prohibiting gay marriage. That is very likely to be the way that we see some of these amendments removed, said Moulton.

Opponents of same-sex marriage disagree that the court will declare statewide bans unconstitutional. Peter Sprigg, Senior Fellow for Policy Studies at the conservative Family Research Council told PBS NewsHour, I remain skeptical that the Supreme Court would dare to impose what weve referred to as a Roe v. Wade of same-sex marriage. Sprigg noted that when the justices addressed the issue of abortion in Roe vs. Wade, all they did was unsettle it and inflame the division.

While those on both sides of the issue will keep an eye on the courts in 2014, they are also focusing some of their efforts on the states. In 2013, the number of states allowing same-sex marriage doubled. However, most states have provisions banning same-sex marriage and of those 33 states, 29 have constitutional amendments prohibiting gay marriage. If it was a football game we would still be ahead, said Sprigg.

Overturning state constitutional amendments is also a difficult and complicated process. The Human Rights Campaigns Brian Moulton said advocates of gay marriage have to look at tactics and shift our approach when it comes to this next year. Were certainly at a higher hurdle in a lot of ways. The first test for supporters will be in Oregon, where the Human Rights Campaign is working to repeal its constitutional amendment as part of a ballot initiative in 2014.

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As gay rights spotlight shifts to Sochi, sides square off back in the U.S.