( CNN ) -- If Rush Limbaugh says same-sex marriage is inevitable , it 's inevitable . Here 's what the conservative radio host had to say about the topic on a recent show : . `` This issue is lost . I do n't care what the Supreme Court does . This is now inevitable . And it 's inevitable because we lost the language on this . '' In a separate clip , he says he would agree with gay rights activists who claim the `` genie is n't going to get put back in the bottle '' on this issue . `` I think the inertia is clearly moving in the direction that there is going to be gay marriage , at some point , nationwide . '' Does he sound begrudging ? Yes . Do I care ? No . If the King Conservative is endorsing the inevitability of same-sex marriage , then my generation -- the one demographers talk about when they mention the `` sea change '' in public opinion on this topic ; the people born after 1981 who support `` gay marriage '' at a rate of 70 % -- will live to see it happen . That 's so exciting that I almost want to end the column right here and now . Who cares what the Supreme Court decides ? Rush said equality is on the way ! But then the question becomes : How soon ? And : What happens until then ? Finally : Does n't this in-between part matter ? Those doubts are what bother me about a new and hotly debated Time magazine cover that declares , quite prematurely , and in all-caps : `` Gay marriage already won . '' `` The Supreme Court has n't made up its mind , '' the subhead says , `` but America has . '' The trouble : America has n't . New-York-America has . Washington-America has . California-America , which voted in 2008 to ban same-sex marriage , could easily overturn that law if a new election were held today . Sutter : Gays live in 50 Americas . But there are plenty of gay and lesbian people who live in states like South Carolina , Arkansas , Oklahoma and Georgia -- where far different views dominate the discourse . Unless the Supreme Court rules broadly against California 's ban on same-sex marriage , which seems unlikely to the smart people who have been dissecting the arguments , then some gay people could be waiting decades for equal rights under the law . How long , exactly , is the subject of some debate . `` In Republican-leaning red states , which uniformly have banned gay marriage , few seem to be having second thoughts , '' writes Ronald Brownstein in the National Journal . `` For the near future , the nation appears locked onto a trajectory in which almost all reliably blue states will establish gay marriage ( or civil unions ) and possibly not a single reliably red state will follow . '' Trajectory , locked . Awesome . I did find a glimmer of hope , however , in an analysis from Nate Silver , The New York Times blogger and data wiz who correctly predicted the outcome of the 2012 presidential election . Silver says even the reddest of the red states will change eventually . Thirty-two states would support same-sex marriage in a popular vote by the year 2016 , he writes in a recent blog post . `` And by 2020 , voters in 44 states would do so , assuming that same-sex marriage continues to gain support at roughly its previous rate . '' The six states left out ? South Carolina , Arkansas , Georgia , Louisiana , Alabama and Mississippi , according to his analysis . With Mississippi being last . I recently spent some time in that state , which passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage by a majority vote of 86 % . In states like that , gay people find it difficult in some communities just to exist , much less hold commitment ceremonies . I met gay kids who had been harassed at school ; a couple that keep a security camera on their porch ; and a man who says he was fired because of his sexual orientation . ( That 's legal in Mississippi and 28 other states , by the way , and it 's something no one 's talking about . ) Opinion : Which state matches your values on LGBT rights ? The conversation is changing -- there are plenty of proud , brave and openly gay people living in the Deep South -- but it 's happening at an uneven clip . And these delays matter for real people . In Mississippi , I met folks like L.B . and Sara Bell , who are legally married in Connecticut but do n't get any of the rights that go with that partnership in the Hospitality State . They told me they would like to start a family but worry about both of them getting custody , since Mississippi bans adoption by same-sex parents . Sara , who would like to carry the child , is 31 . If same-sex marriage is n't legalized until , say , 2030 , she would be 48 . It would be nice to overlook this mushy , awkward middle period -- our county 's pimply adolescence on gay rights -- and jump straight to an all-inclusive future . But these teenage years matter . They affect how millions of Americans live today . And the transition could also affect what type of nation we become . Let 's hope they go by quickly . The opinions expressed in this column are solely those of John D. Sutter .
Time magazine 's cover declares `` GAY MARRIAGE ALREADY WON '' John Sutter says that assertion is premature for most of the country . He says same-sex marriage is inevitable -- and that 's a great thing . Sutter : If the Supreme Court passes , it could be years before it 's national policy .