The winds of change are blowing in Massachusetts, and depending on what nine robed figures eventually decide, they may just sweep across the entire nation.

In a unanimous decision yesterday, a three-judge panel of the 1st Circuit ruled that the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denies federal recognition to same-sex marriages and prevents same-sex couples who married under state laws from receiving federal benefits, is discriminatory and deprives them of their constitutional rights.

However, the court did not pass judgment on some of the law's more controversial provisions, such as whether states that don't allow same-sex marriages can be forced to recognize gay marriages from states where it is legal. The 1st Circuit also did not address whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry.