The social and legal challenges of gay and lesbian parenthood — even after the ruling in June by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding their constitutional right to marry — are detailed in a Washington Monthly article authored by University of Oregon assistant political science professor Alison Gash.

Her July 8 article acknowledges that the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage is a huge step in the fight for marriage equality, but she asserts that gay parents still face several obstacles when it comes to recognition of their parental rights.

“Now, as those states that have yet to welcome gays and lesbians into the marital fold stand at the ready to issue licenses to same-sex couples, one has to wonder whether the chasm between marriage and parenting will persist … . When gay and lesbian parents set out to both claim and exercise their parenting status they may be further challenged by vital records clerks, reproductive regulations or hospital or school administrators who are either unwilling or ill-equipped to recognize gays and lesbians as parents,” Gash writes.

Read the full story here: “Gay Parenting in the Post-Obergefell World.”