Same-sex marriage status in the United States by state

Status of same-sex marriage in the United States

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  Performed and recognized

  Recognized when performed elsewhere

  Recognized by state and federal governments, but not by tribal government

  (mixed jurisdiction; not performed by tribal government)

  (mixed jurisdiction; not performed or recognized by tribal government)

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Same-sex unions have been on the political radar in the United States since the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that denying licenses to same-sex partners violated the Hawaii constitution unless there is a "compelling state interest." Since Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage in 2004, other states have redefined their own marriage laws, both for and against same-sex marriage.

This article tracks the status of those laws. It is intended only as a resource for the bottom line current legal status of same-sex unions right now regardless of pending litigation. See same-sex marriage legislation in the United States for the outcome of specific legislation and same-sex marriage law in the United States by state for detailed descriptions.

Marriage is defined as the union of one man and one woman in at least 42 states. Currently, 30 states have added defense of marriage amendments to their constitutions. There are five states that recognize or will soon recognize same-sex marriages, and a total of six (plus the District of Columbia) that recognize some form of same-sex civil unions or domestic partnerships.

State-by-state listing

Below is the status of the law in each of the 50 states, plus the District of Columbia.

• The Marriage Defined column tells whether that state contains any statutes or constitutional language that defines marriage as between a man and a woman or otherwise bans same-sex marriages.
  • The Constitution sub-column gives links to the constitutional amendment story, if existing.
  • The Statute leads to the corresponding section of Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States by state to afford full legislation about constitution and statutes. (Under construction, if not afforded, see HRC and Domawatch links below that page).
• The other links (licenses - Civil unions status - domestic partnership status - provides for appropriate page denominations according to marriage - civil unions - domestic partnership and shows the existing pages if the link is active. Civil unions denomination is left in the plural form because it is the rule used for other countries (see Category:Marriage, unions and partnerships by country below )
  • The details for the marriage recognition (Recogn.) are to be found with the marriage license link when active. Since constitutional bans are more difficult to overturn, the marriage license and recognition columns have been merged in such cases for relevant states.
  • Def. means constitutional definition amendment for the corresponding unions or partnership. When it happens to be the same constitutional definition amendment as the link in the Marriage Defined - Constitution column, the Def. and Status columns have been merged. Otherwise another link is proposed to the other relevant amendment in the Def. column in relevant cases.
• The blue squares show what is allowed and green ones, potential changes in the near future.
• The notes column gives better detail and recent possibilities.

State	Marriage					Same-sex unions				Notes
	Defined		Result			Civil Unions		Domestic Partnership
	Constitution	Statute	Licenses	Recogn.		Def.	Status	Def.	Status
Alabama	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
Alaska	Yes	Yes	Banned			No	None	No	None	Petitions are made to start a ban ballot on civil unions too.
Arizona	Yes	Yes	Banned			No	None	No	None
Arkansas	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
California	Yes	Yes (°)	Banned Ban upheld by California Supreme Court. Ban overturned by the District Court for Northern California, ruling stayed pending appeal.	Yes; Conditional		No	None	No	Yes	Main article: Same-sex marriage in California 2 Attempts to pass marriage have been vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Supreme Court struck down ban on same-sex marriage (In Re Marriage Cases). Proposition 8 qualifies by petition as an initiative for constitutional amendment to ban marriage. Originally granting only hospital visitation rights, the scope of domestic partnerships was gradually expanded over a three-year period. Taking effect on January 1, 2005, A.B. 205 extended to domestic partnerships virtually all the legal rights and responsibilities of marriage in California. Thus, domestic partnership in California has been effectively transformed into a civil union status.
Colorado	Yes	Yes	Banned			No	Failed (Still Proposed)	Yes	On November 2006 ballot, Colorado banned marriage but rejected a referendum to allow a "civil union"-like domestic partnership, sustained by a constitutional amendment. See also this table
Connecticut	No	No	Legal* by Supreme Court decision, then by legislation.	Yes		Expires on 1 October 2010	Expires on 1 October 2010	None	None	Main article: Same-sex marriage in Connecticut Connecticut allows full civil marriage licences to same-sex couples. Civil unions expire from 1 October 2010.
Delaware	No	Yes	Not legal	Not legal		As Civil Unions Effective 6/1/11	Yes (Effective 1/1/2012)	No	None
District of Columbia	No	No	Legal	Yes		No	None	No	Legal*	Main article: Same-sex marriage in the District of Columbia Domestic partnerships were enacted in 1992; implemented from 2002 and then expanded from 2003 to 2009. Same-sex marriages were legalized on December 18, 2009 and marriages began on March 9, 2010.
Florida	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
Georgia	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
Hawaii	Yes	Yes	Ban permitted Not legal.	As Civil Union Effective 1/1/12		Yes	None (Effective 1/1/12)	No	Legal*	Minimal benefits, available to all adults, including relatives; official terminology is reciprocal beneficiary relationship*. Civil Union Bill 2010 has been approved in the 2010 Senate, vote pending in the Hawaii House Committee.
Idaho	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
Illinois	No	Yes	Not legal	As Civil Unions Effective 6/1/11		No	Yes Effective 6/1/11	No	None	Petitions are made to start a ban ballot. Marriage or civil union proposition, heading rather to civil unions.
Indiana	No	Yes	Not legal	Not legal		No	None	No	None	Legislative initiative to start a ban ballot.
Iowa	No	No	Legal* by Supreme Court decision	Yes		No	None	No	None	Main article: Same-sex marriage in Iowa In August 2007, Polk County judge ruled Iowa's statutory ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, but ruling was quickly stayed and appealed. On appeal, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the Polk County ruling in the case of Varnum v. Brien. Legislative initiative to begin constitutional ban ballot process was unsuccessful in 2009. Republicans in opposition vow to push the issue in 2010 legislative session.
Kansas	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		Uncertain
Kentucky	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
Louisiana	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
Maine	No (but proposed by Republicans)	Banned by statute since 1997 and was rejected by "the people's veto" in 2009.	No (rejected by "the people's veto" in 2009)	No (rejected by "the people's veto"in 2009)		No	None	Yes (both opposite sex and same sex)	Legal*	Main article: Domestic partnership in Maine The Maine Domestic Partnership Act came into effect on July 30, 2004. Same-sex couple who married elsewhere may register their marriage as a domestic partnership. The "people's veto" won by 52.9 percent in November 2009.
Maryland	No	Yes	Not legal* Same-Sex Marriage Postponed until 2012	Not legal		No	None	Few rights, unregistered domestic partnerships provide certain limited legal rights - just like Wisconsin, Hawaii and Colorado.	Legal*	Main article: Same-sex marriage in Maryland "The first state law defining marriage as a union between a man and woman was adopted by Maryland in 1973."
Massachusetts	No	No	Legal* by Supreme Court decision	Yes.		No	None	No	None	Main article: Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts
Michigan	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		Banned* by Supreme Court decision
Minnesota	No	Yes	Not legal	Not legal		No	None	No	None	Legislative initiative and petitions are made to start a ban ballot.
Mississippi	Yes	Yes	Banned			No	None	No	None
Missouri	Yes	Yes	Banned			No	None	No	None
Montana	Yes	Yes	Banned			No	None	No	None
Nebraska	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		Banned
Nevada	Yes	Yes	Banned			No	No	Yes	Yes	Domestic partnership legislation in Nevada is similar to the Californian/Oregon models.
New Hampshire	No	No	Legal	Yes		No	Legal - Expires on midnight 1/1/2011.	No	None	New Hampshire allows full civil marriage licences to same-sex couples, civil unions to expire and convert into marriage from 1 January 2011.
New Jersey	Proposal rejected	No*	None	As civil unions		No	Legal	No	No more but present valid ones allowed.	Main article: Same-sex marriage in New Jersey The state of New Jersey has neither allowed nor recognized marriages between couples of the same-sex. However, the New Jersey Supreme Court, in Lewis v. Harris, required the New Jersey Legislature to change state law by April 24, 2007 to afford same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples. A bill now allows civil unions that will supersede domestic partnerships. These are no more applied but may remain for the present ones.
New Mexico	No	No	None	None		No	None	No	None	Does not contain any public policy explicitly banning same-sex marriage nor defining marriage as between a man and a woman (effectively making the state neutral).
New York	Yes	Yes	Legal* Approved June 24, 2011	Yes, by governmental entities; see Same sex marriage in New York.		Yes	None	No	None	Main article: Same-sex marriage in New York
North Carolina	No	Yes	Not legal	Not legal		No	None	No	None	Legislative initiative to start a ban ballot.
North Dakota	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
Ohio	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
Oklahoma	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
Oregon	Yes	No	Banned*			No	Legal	No	Yes	Main article: Same-sex marriage in Oregon Domestic partnership legislation in Oregon is very similar to the California and Nevada model.
Pennsylvania	No	Yes	Not legal	Not legal		No	None	No	None	Petitions are made to start a ban ballot.
Rhode Island	No	No	Proposed	Yes		No	Proposed	No	None	Does not contain any public policy explicitly banning same-sex marriage nor defining marriage as between a man and a woman (effectively making the state neutral). Does not award marriage licenses, but does extend limited rights to same-sex couples. Now this is the basis on which RI will recognize the same-sex couples married in Massachusetts according to the Attorney General.
South Carolina	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		Yes	None
South Dakota	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		Banned
Tennessee	Yes	Yes	Banned			No	None	No	None
Texas	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
Utah	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		No	None
Vermont	No	No	Legal	Yes		No	No more but present valid ones allowed.	No	None	Vermont allows full civil marriage licences to same-sex couples. Civil unions still recognised before 31 August 2009, but can not be performed after that date - also there is no "conversion into civil marriage" (as CT and NH have done).
Virginia	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		Banned
Washington	No	Yes	Not legal *	As domestic partners		No	None	Yes (same-sex only)	Legal	Main article: Same-sex marriage in Washington Same-sex couple who married elsewhere may register their marriage as a domestic partnership. The 2009 reforms called the "all-but-marriage" law will come into effect from December 3, 2009, since it was approved by voters by 53 percent.
West Virginia	No	Yes	Not legal	Not legal		No	None	No	None	Petitions are made to start a ban ballot.
Wisconsin	Yes	Yes	Banned			Banned		Yes	Yes	Domestic partnerships provide certain limited legal rights - just like Hawaii, Maryland and Colorado.
Wyoming	No	Yes	Not legal	Not legal		No	None	No	None	State law pre-dates DOMA.
State	Marriage					Same-sex unions				Notes
	Defined		Result			Civil Unions		Domestic Partnership
	Constitution	Statute	Licenses	Recogn.		Def.	Status	Def.	Status

See also

In general

• Same-sex marriage
• Timeline of same-sex marriage
• Same-Sex Couples Informative Links

In USA

• Same-sex marriage in the United States
• Public opinion of same-sex marriage in the United States
• Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States
• Same-sex marriage law in the United States by state
• Rights and responsibilities of marriages in the United States
• Defense of Marriage Act
• Marriage Protection Act of 2007
• Defense of marriage amendment
• List of defense of marriage amendments to U.S. state constitutions by type
• Federal Marriage Amendment
• Domestic partnership in the United States
• Freedom to Marry Coalition
• LGBT rights in the United States