WASHINGTON -- If a same-sex couple is married in California and gets in a car accident while driving through Texas, will they be recognized as married by the local hospital? These are the kind of questions that are going to riddle courts around the country as thousands of gay couples flock to California to say their ?I do?s.? The legal battleground could include taxes, property rights, death benefits, health insurance and child custody issues. Each state could have a different interpretation.

Texas, for example, has both a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage and a statute supporting the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which passed Congress in 1996. New Mexico, on the other hand, has no laws condoning or prohibiting same-sex marriage.

That?s also the case in Maryland, where Mark Scurti and Michael Myers are hoping to push for their California wedding to be recognized. They?re planning to tie the knot this fall.

?We know that we're a couple, and there's nothing that could really take us apart, but we need that piece of paper,? Myers said.

It could be an uphill battle. Right now, 41 states have passed statutes prohibiting gay marriage and 27 states have constitutional amendments, which will be difficult to challenge in court.

Legal expert Robert Alt, who works for the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation, says any lawsuits might be null and void this November. California voters will be deciding on a constitutional ban and Alt predicts a backlash to the California court?s decision. ?I think the California case won?t ultimately be looked at as a victory, it will be looked at as a setback,? Alt says.

Scurti says the California court got it right. ?They recognized a dual system is not equal, a dual system must be eliminated and marriage is the only way to make it work.?