Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States

Legal status of same-sex unions
hide Marriage Argentina Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada Colombia Costa Rica Denmark Ecuador Finland France Germany Iceland Ireland Luxembourg Malta Mexico1 Netherlands2 New Zealand3 Norway Portugal South Africa Spain Sweden Taiwan United Kingdom4 United States5 Uruguay
show Civil unions and registered partnerships Andorra Chile Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Estonia Greece Hungary Italy Liechtenstein Mexico:   • Veracruz Monaco Montenegro Netherlands:   • Aruba San Marino Slovenia Switzerland United Kingdom:   • Cayman Islands
show Common-law marriage Israel6
show Minimal recognition Armenia7 Bulgaria8 Cambodia:   • 50 communes China9 Cuba10 India:   • Chandigarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Orissa, Punjab, Uttarakhand11 Japan12 Latvia8 Lithuania8 Nepal13 Netherlands:2   • Curaçao, St Maarten Poland8 Romania8 Slovakia8 South Korea14
show See also Same-sex union legislation Same-sex union court cases Timeline of same-sex marriage Recognition of same-sex unions in Africa Recognition of same-sex unions in Asia Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe Recognition of same-sex unions in the Americas Recognition of same-sex unions in Oceania Marriage privatization Divorce of same-sex couples Domestic partnership Military policy Adoption Listings by country LGBT rights by country or territory
show Notes Performed statewide in 20 states and Mexico City, in certain municipalities in three other states, and recognized by all states in such cases. Performed in the Netherlands proper, including the Caribbean Netherlands. Registered in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed. Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau or the Cook Islands. Not recognized in Caribbean overseas territories, though marriage-equivalent ordered for the Cayman Islands. Neither performed nor recognized in American Samoa or some tribal nations. Cohabitation. Registered foreign marriages confer limited rights. Marriage recognized in some cities. Degree of recognition unknown. No actual cases to date. The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Legal guardianships (nationwide, except Hong Kong and Macau), residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents (Hong Kong). Recognition of foreign marriage for parental rights Unregistered cohabitation or maitri Karar–type contractual relationships In addition, some cities have issued certificates for same-sex couples, but they are not legally binding. Foreign same-sex spouses are eligible for a "Non-Tourist Visa" as a dependent Limited to spouses of foreign diplomatic officials.
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In response to court action in a number of states, the United States federal government and a number of state legislatures passed or attempted to pass legislation either prohibiting or allowing same-sex marriage or other types of same-sex unions.

On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges that a fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by the Fourteenth Amendment, and that states must allow same-sex marriage.

Federal level[]

In 1996, the United States Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed Public Law 104-199, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Section 3 of DOMA defines "marriage" and "spouse" for purposes of both federal law and any ruling, regulation, or interpretation by an administrative bureau or agency of the United States government.^[1] The impact of Section 2 of DOMA, which relieves jurisdictions within the United States of any obligation to recognize same-sex relationships legally established in any other jurisdiction, is less clear.^[2]

On March 16, 2011, companion bills were introduced by House and Senate Democrats to repeal DOMA. The bills were named the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA).^[3]

In United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court was asked to determine the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA, which defines marriage for federal purposes as the union of a man and a woman.^[4] On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled by a 5-4 vote that the Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional.^[5]

The State Marriage Defense Act, introduced in the House of Representatives on January 9, 2014, would require the federal government to recognize the validity of a marriage based on a person's legal residence (place of domicile), rather than on the validity of the marriage when and where it was solemnized (place of celebration). The Obama administration has generally used the latter standard. Its sponsors described it as a way to clarify the federal government's response to Windsor and restore the ability of the a state to control the definition of marriage within its borders.^[6][7]

In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court was asked to determine the constitutionality of state bans on same-sex marriage licenses as well as state bans on recognition of same-sex marriages from other states. On June 26, 2015, the court ruled by a 5-4 vote that the Fourteenth Amendment obliges states to license same-sex marriages and to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.^[8]

State level[]

Efforts to enable same-sex unions[]

Votes by state legislatures to recognize various types of same-sex unions, sorted by date:

State	Date	Type of same-sex union	Upper house		Lower house		Governor	Final outcome
			Yes	No	Yes	No
District of Columbia	June 1992	Domestic partnership[9]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
California	September 1994	Domestic partnership[10][11]	21	17	41	26	Vetoed	No
Hawaii	March 1996	Domestic partnership[12]	14	11	Failed		—	No
Hawaii	June 1997	Reciprocal beneficiary relationship[13]	24	7	43	27	Signed	Yes
California	September 1998	Domestic partnership[14]	21	17	41	36	Vetoed	No
California	October 1999	Domestic partnership[15]	23	13	41	38	Vetoed	No
California	October 1999	Domestic partnership[16]	22	14	41	36	Signed	Yes
Vermont	April 2000	Civil union[17]	19	11	79	68	Signed	Yes
Rhode Island	July 2001	Domestic partnership[18]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
California	August 2001	Domestic partnership (expansion)[19]	22	12	41	27	Signed	Yes
California	October 2001	Domestic partnership (expansion)[20]	23	11	41	32	Signed	Yes
New York	August 2002	Domestic partnership[21]	Passed		147	0	Signed	Yes
New York	August 2002	Domestic partnership (expansion)[22]	Passed		147	0	Signed	Yes
California	September 2002	Domestic partnership (expansion)[23]	26	11	41	31	Signed	Yes
California	September 2002	Domestic partnership (expansion)[24]	23	13	43	27	Signed	Yes
District of Columbia	April 2003	Domestic partnership (expansion)[25]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
California	September 2003	Domestic partnership (expansion)[26]	23	14	41	33	Signed	Yes
New Jersey	January 2004	Domestic partnership[27]	23	9	41	28	Signed	Yes
Maine	April 2004	Domestic partnership[28]	18	14	84	58	Signed	Yes
District of Columbia	May 2004	Domestic partnership (expansion)[29]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
California	September 2004	Domestic partnership (expansion)[30]	23	12	46	29	Signed	Yes
New York	September 2004	Domestic partnership (expansion)[31]	Passed		141	1	Signed	Yes
District of Columbia	December 2004	Domestic partnership (expansion)[32]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
District of Columbia	January 2005	Domestic partnership (expansion)[33]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Connecticut	April 2005	Civil union[34]	27	9	85	63	Signed	Yes
Maryland	May 2005	Domestic partnership[35]	31	16	83	50	Vetoed	No
California	June 2005	Marriage[36]	—	—	Failed		—	No
Rhode Island	June 2005	Domestic partnership (expansion)[37][38]	Passed		—	—	—	No
Rhode Island	July 2005	Domestic partnership (expansion)[39][40]	Passed		—	—	—	No
California	September 2005	Marriage[41]	21	15	41	35	Vetoed	No
California	September 2005	Domestic partnership (expansion)[42]	23	15	47	28	Signed	Yes
California	September 2005	Domestic partnership (expansion)[43]	21	14	47	32	Signed	Yes
District of Columbia	December 2005	Domestic partnership (expansion)[44]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Jersey	January 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[45]	39	0	67	8	Signed	Yes
District of Columbia	January 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[46]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New York	March 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[47]	Passed		96	25	Signed	Yes
Maine	April 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[48]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
New York	June 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[49]	—	—	114	27	—	No
New York	June 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[50]	—	—	116	27	—	No
Rhode Island	June 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[51][52]	Passed		Passed		N/A4	Yes
Rhode Island	June 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[53][52]	Passed		Passed		N/A4	Yes
Rhode Island	July 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[54][55]	Passed		Passed		N/A4	Yes
Rhode Island	July 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[56][55]	Passed		Passed		N/A4	Yes
Rhode Island	July 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[57][58]	Passed		Passed		N/A4	Yes
California	September 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[59]	24	15	46	29	Signed	Yes
California	September 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[60]	23	15	47	31	Signed	Yes
New Jersey	December 2006	Civil union[61]	23	12	56	19	Signed	Yes
District of Columbia	December 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)[62]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	April 2007	Civil union[63]	—	—	Failed		—	No
Washington	April 2007	Registered domestic partnership[64]	28	19	63	35	Signed	Yes
Oregon	May 2007	Domestic partnership[65]	21	9	34	26	Signed	Yes
Maine	May 2007	Domestic partnership (expansion)[66]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	May 2007	Civil union[67]	14	10	243	129	Signed	Yes
Maine	June 2007	Domestic partnership (expansion)[68]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Maine	June 2007	Domestic partnership (expansion)[69]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
New York	June 2007	Marriage[70]	—	—	85	61	—	No
Rhode Island	July 2007	Domestic partnership (expansion)[71][72]	Passed		Passed		N/A4	Yes
California	September 2007	Marriage[73]	22	15	42	34	Vetoed	No
California	October 2007	Domestic partnership (expansion)[74]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Rhode Island	October 2007	Domestic partnership (expansion)[75][72]	Passed		Passed		Vetoed 1	Yes
New Hampshire	January 2008	Contractual cohabitation[76]	Failed		—	—	—	No
New York	January 2008	Domestic partnership (expansion)[77]	Passed		—	—	—	No
New Mexico	February 2008	Domestic partnership[78]	—	—	33	31	—	No
Washington	March 2008	Registered domestic partnership (expansion)[79][80]'	29	20	62	32	Signed	Yes
Maine	March 2008	Domestic partnership (expansion)[81]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Maryland	April 2008	Domestic partnership[82]	—	—	86	51	—	No
Maryland	May 2008	Domestic partnership[83]	30	17	88	46	Signed	Yes
Maryland	May 2008	Domestic partnership[84]	27	20	86	47	Signed	Yes
District of Columbia	May 2008	Domestic partnership (expansion)[85]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Mexico	February 2009	Domestic partnership[86]	17	25	—	—	—	No
Vermont	April 2009	Marriage[87]	23	5	100	49	Vetoed 1	Yes
Colorado	April 2009	Designated beneficiary agreement[88]	23	10	41	24	Signed	Yes
Connecticut	April 2009	Marriage (codification)[89]	28	7	100	44	Signed	Yes
Maine	May 2009	Marriage[90]	21	14	89	58	Signed	No2
District of Columbia	May 2009	Marriage (recognition only)[91][92]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Washington	May 2009	Registered domestic partnership (expansion)[93]	30	18	62	35	Signed	Yes3
District of Columbia	May 2009	Domestic partnership (expansion)[94]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Maine	May 2009	Domestic partnership (expansion)[95]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Nevada	May 2009	Domestic partnership[96][97]	14	7	28	14	Vetoed1	Yes
New Hampshire	June 2009	Marriage[98]	14	10	198	176	Signed	Yes
Oregon	June 2009	Domestic partnership (expansion)[99]	27	0	41	8	Signed	Yes
Wisconsin	June 2009	Domestic partnership	17	16	50	48	Signed	Yes
New York	August 2009	Domestic partnership (expansion)[100]	Passed		142	0	Signed	Yes
California	October 2009	Out-of-state pre-proposition 8 marriage recognition[101]	24	14	44	27	Signed	Yes
New York	December 2009	Marriage[102]	24	38	89	52	—	No
District of Columbia	December 2009	Marriage[103]	N/A		11	2	Signed	Yes
Rhode Island	January 2010	Domestic partnership (expansion)[104][105]	Passed		Passed		Vetoed 1	Yes
Rhode Island	January 2010	Domestic partnership (expansion)[106][107]	Passed		Passed		Vetoed 1	Yes
New York	January 2010	Domestic partnership (expansion)[108][109]	61	0	142	0	Signed	Yes
New Jersey	January 2010	Marriage[110]	14	20	—	—	—	No
New York	March 2010	Domestic partnership (expansion)[111]	—	—	119	20	—	No
New York	March 2010	Domestic partnership (expansion)[112][113]	Passed		137	5	Signed	Yes
New York	April 2010	Domestic partnership (expansion)[114][115]	—	—	132	9	—	No
Minnesota	May 2010	Domestic partnership (only 1 entitlement)[116]	41	24	78	55	Vetoed	No
Hawaii	July 2010	Civil union[117]	18	7	31	20	Vetoed	No
New York	August 2010	Committed partnership[118][119]	50	11	107	26	Signed	Yes
California	September 2010	Domestic partnership (expansion)[120]	23	12	53	24	Signed	Yes
Illinois	January 2011	Civil union[121][122][123]	32	24	61	52	Signed	Yes
Hawaii	February 2011	Civil union[124]	18	5	31	19	Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	March 2011	Domestic union[125]	—	—	Failed		—	No
Maryland	March 2011	Marriage[126][127]	25	21	—	—	—	No
Colorado	March 2011	Civil union[128][129]	23	12	—	—	—	No
Washington	April 2011	Recognition of out-of-state union as registered domestic partnership[130]	28	19	58	39	Signed	Yes
Nevada	May 2011	Recognition of out-of-state union as domestic partnership[131]	21	0	41	0	Signed	Yes
Washington	May 2011	Registered domestic partnership (expansion)[132]	27	21	57	40	Signed	Yes
Delaware	May 2011	Civil union[133]	13	6	26	15	Signed	Yes
Nevada	May 2011	Domestic partnership (expansion)[134]	11	10	—	—	—	No
New York	June 2011	Marriage[135]	33	29	80	63	Signed	Yes
Rhode Island	July 2011	Civil union[136]	21	16	62	11	Signed	Yes
California	September 2011	Domestic partnership (expansion)[137]	22	13	52	25	Signed	Yes
California	October 2011	Domestic partnership (expansion)[138]	25	15	Passed		Signed	Yes
California	October 2011	Domestic partnership (expansion)[139]	24	13	Passed		Signed	Yes
Washington	February 2012	Marriage[140]	28	21	55	43	Signed	Yes3
New Jersey	February 2012	Marriage[141]	24	16	42	33	Vetoed	No
Maryland	March 2012	Marriage[142]	25	22	72	67	Signed	Yes3
New York	April 2012	Domestic partnership (expansion)[143]	—	—	129	10	—	No
Colorado	May 2012	Civil union[144]	23	12	—	—	—	No
New Jersey	August 2012	Civil union and domestic partnership (expansion: surrogacy)[145]	21	11	41	33	Vetoed	No
Wyoming	January 2013	Domestic partnership[146]	—	—	24	35	—	No
Colorado	March 2013	Civil union[147]	21	14	39	26	Signed	Yes
Rhode Island	May 2013	Marriage[148][149]	26	12	56	15	Signed	Yes
Delaware	May 2013	Marriage[150]	12	9	23	18	Signed	Yes
Minnesota	May 2013	Marriage[151]	37	30	75	59	Signed	Yes
Nevada	June 2013	Domestic partnership (expansion)[152]	21	0	41	0	Signed	Yes
Hawaii	November 2013	Marriage[153]	19	4	30	19	Signed	Yes
Illinois	November 2013	Marriage[154][155]	32	21	61	54	Signed	Yes
New York	February 2014	Marriage (codification)[156][157]	—	—	125	10	—	No
Wyoming	February 2014	Marriage[158]	—	—	17	41	—	No
New York	April 2014	Domestic partnership (expansion)[159][160]	—	—	124	14	—	No
California	July 2014	Marriage (statutory codification)[161][162][163]	25	10	51	11	Signed	Yes
Virginia	February 2015	Marriage (statutory codification)[164][165][166]	20	18	—	—	—	No
Utah	March 2015	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[167]	26	0	39	30	Signed	Yes
New Mexico	April 2015	Marriage (partial codification)[168][169]	35	5	37	10	Signed	Yes
Nevada	June 2015	Domestic partnership (expansion)[170]	21	0	42	0	Signed	Yes
Nevada	June 2015	Domestic partnership (expansion)[171]	19	0	41	1	Signed	Yes
New Jersey	June 2015	Marriage, civil union and domestic partnership (expansion: surrogacy)[172]	21	13	43	25	Vetoed	No
Maine	June 2015	Marriage (expansion)[173]	35	0	141	0	Vetoed1	Yes
Oregon	July 2015	Marriage (statutory codification)[174]	18	11	40	18	Signed	Yes
Guam	August 2015	Marriage (codification)[175][176][177]	N/A		13	2	N/A4	Yes
New York	September 2015	Marriage (codification)[178][179]	60	0	146	1	Signed	Yes
District of Columbia	December 2015	Domestic partnership (expansion)[180]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Oregon	March 2016	Marriage (statutory codification)[181][182]	18	11	43	13	Signed	Yes
New York	March 2016	Marriage (codification)[183][184]	—	—	129	12	—	No
New York	April 2016	Domestic partnership (expansion)[185]	—	—	120	15	—	No
Colorado	June 2016	Conversion of civil union into marriage[186][187]	34	0	52	13	Signed	Yes
North Carolina	June 2016	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[188]	—	—	Passed		—	No
California	July 2016	Marriage and domestic partnership (statutory codification)[189][190]	34	0	63	1	Signed	Yes
North Dakota	January 2017	Marriage (statutory codification)[191][192]	15	31	—	—	—	No
New Mexico	February 2017	Marriage (partial codification)[193][194]	—	—	63	0	—	No
Utah	March 2017	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[195]	26	0	74	0	Signed	Yes
Utah	March 2017	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[196]	29	0	69	3	Signed	Yes
Utah	March 2017	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[197]	27	0	68	0	Signed	Yes
Maryland	May 2017	Domestic partnership (expansion)[198]	138	2	45	0	Signed	Yes
Nevada	May 2017	Marriage (statutory codification)[199]	20	1	28	10	Signed	Yes
Nevada	June 2017	Domestic partnership (expansion)[200]	21	0	41	0	Signed	Yes
New York	June 2017	Marriage (codification)[201]	62	0	139	0	Signed	Yes
New Jersey	June 2017	Marriage, civil union and domestic partnership (expansion: surrogacy)[202]	22	15	—	—	—	No
North Carolina	July 2017	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[203]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Maine	July 2017	Marriage (codification)[204]	Passed		Passed		N/A4	Yes
Maryland	January 2018	Domestic partnership (expansion)[205]	135	2	45	1	Vetoed	No
New Mexico	February 2018	Marriage (partial codification)[206]	—	—	60	2	—	No
New York	March 2018	Marriage (codification)[207]	—	—	129	6	—	No
Utah	March 2018	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[208]	27	0	70	0	Signed	Yes
Utah	March 2018	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[209]	23	0	73	0	Signed	Yes
Utah	March 2018	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[210]	23	4	44	24	Signed	Yes
Utah	March 2018	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[211]	25	3	45	26	Signed	Yes
New York	April 2018	Domestic partnership (expansion)[212]	—	—	114	17	—	No
Minnesota	May 2018	Marriage (codification)[213]	34	33	78	50	Vetoed	No
New Jersey	May 2018	Marriage, civil union and domestic partnership (expansion: surrogacy)[214]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
New York	June 2018	Marriage (codification)[215]	57	4	—	—	—	No
New Hampshire	June 2018	Marriage (equalization of marriageable age)[216]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Arkansas	March 2019	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[217]	35	0	96	0	Signed	Yes
Nebraska	March 2019	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[218]	N/A		38	6	Signed	Yes
New Mexico	March 2019	Marriage (partial codification)[219]	—	—	53	2	—	No
Virginia	March 2019	Marriage (expansion: surrogacy)[220]	28	12	63	36	Signed	Yes
New Mexico	March 2019	Marriage (partial codification)[221]	32	8	40	25	Signed	Yes
Nebraska	March 2019	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[222]	N/A		45	0	Signed	Yes
Utah	March 2019	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[223]	22	2	55	6	Signed	Yes
Utah	March 2019	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[224]	29	0	69	4	Signed	Yes
New Mexico	April 2019	Marriage (partial codification)[225]	39	0	62	0	Signed	Yes
Maryland	May 2019	Marriage (expansion)[226]	34	10	121	15	Signed	Yes
Maryland	May 2019	Marriage (expansion)[227]	31	14	133	6	Signed	Yes
Oklahoma	May 2019	Marriage (expansion: surrogacy)[228]	33	10	84	6	Signed	Yes
Nebraska	May 2019	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[229]	N/A		40	3	Signed	Yes
Nebraska	May 2019	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[230]	N/A		33	8	Vetoed	No
Minnesota	May 2019	Marriage (codification)[231][232]	52	15	74	50	Signed	Yes
Rhode Island	June 2019	Marriage (expansion)[233]	35	0	—	—	—	No
Maine	June 2019	Marriage (codification)[234]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Delaware	July 2019	Marriage (codification)[235]	20	1	37	4	Signed	Yes
New York	October 2019	Marriage (codification)[236]	61	0	121	23	Signed	Yes
Hawaii	December 2019	Marriage and civil union (codification)[237]	—	—	Passed		—	No
New York	December 2019	Domestic partnership (expansion)[238][239]	59	0	122	24	Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	January 2020	Marriage (codification)[240]	—	—	Failed		—	No
New Mexico	February 2020	Marriage (partial codification)[241]	42	0	64	0	Signed	Yes
Nebraska	February 2020	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[242]	N/A		47	0	Signed	Yes
New Mexico	February 2020	Marriage (partial codification)[243]	40	0	67	0	Signed	Yes
Virginia	March 2020	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[244]	28	12	63	34	Signed	Yes
Virginia	March 2020	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[245]	25	13	62	38	Signed	Yes
Virginia	March 2020	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[246]	33	6	58	42	Signed	Yes
Utah	March 2020	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[247]	24	1	70	0	Signed	Yes
Utah	March 2020	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[248]	27	0	71	0	Signed	Yes
Virginia	April 2020	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[249]	39	1	91	6	Signed	Yes
New York	April 2020	Marriage (expansion)[250][251]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Virginia	April 2020	Marriage (statutory codification)[252]	24	16	53	43	Signed	Yes
New York	April 2020	Domestic partnership (expansion)[253][254]	62	0	131	11	Signed	Yes
Puerto Rico	June 2020	Marriage (codification)[255][256]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
North Carolina	June 2020	Marriage (partial statutory codification)[257]	47	0	Passed		Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	July 2020	Marriage (codification)[258]	Passed		209	119	Signed	Yes
Rhode Island	July 2020	Marriage (expansion)[259]	34	1	64	1	Signed	Yes
Rhode Island	July 2020	Marriage (expansion)[260]	36	1	67	1	Signed	Yes
Nevada	May 2017	Marriage (constitutional codification)[261][262]	19	2	27	14	N/A	Yes
	May 2019		19	2	38	2
Virginia	February 2021	Marriage (constitutional codification)[263][264]	24	12	60	33	Advanced	Yes
	2022
Nebraska	2021	Marriage (constitutional codification)[265]	N/A		Pending
Florida	2021	Marriage (statutory codification)[266]	Pending		Pending
Massachusetts	2020	Marriage (expansion)[267][268]	Pending		Pending
New Jersey	2020	Marriage and civil union (partial codification)[269]			Pending

Notes:

• ¹Veto overridden
• ²People's veto (Maine Question 1, 2009)
• ³People's veto failed (Washington Referendum 71, Washington Referendum 74, Maryland Question 6)
• ⁴The bill was allowed to lapse into law.

Efforts to prohibit same-sex unions[]

Votes by state legislatures to prohibit recognition of various types of same-sex unions, sorted by date:

State	Date	Type of same-sex union	Upper House		Lower house		Governor	Final outcome1
			Yes	No	Yes	No
Maryland	May 1973	Marriage[270]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes2
Texas	June 1973	Marriage[271][272]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Oklahoma	February 1975	Marriage[273]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Arizona	April 1975	Marriage[274]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Virginia	August 1975	Marriage[275]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes2
Utah	April 1977	Marriage[276]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Florida	June 1977	Marriage[277][278][279]	37	0	101	11	Signed	Yes
Illinois	June 1977	Marriage[280]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes2
California	August 1977	Marriage[281]	23	5	68	2	Signed	Yes2
Wyoming	October 1977	Marriage[282]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Wisconsin	July 1979	Marriage[283]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	July 1987	Marriage[284][285]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes2
New Hampshire	March 1994	Recognition of out-of-state marriage[286]	11	12	—	—	—	No
Guam	May 1994	Marriage[287]	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes2
Hawaii	June 1994	Marriage[288]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes2
Utah	March 1995	Marriage[289]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
South Dakota	January 1996	Marriage[290][291][292]	26	8	49	18	Signed	Yes
Idaho	February 1996	Marriage[291][293]	24	6	66	4	Signed	Yes
Idaho	March 1996	Recognition of out-of-state marriage[294]	28	4	59	6	Signed	Yes
Colorado	March 1996	Marriage[295]	Passed		Passed		Vetoed	No
Kansas	April 1996	Marriage[291][296]	39	1	87	38	Signed	Yes
Georgia	April 1996	Marriage[290][291][297]	47	0	135	10	Signed	Yes
Arizona	May 1996	Marriage[290][291][298]	21	9	50	5	Signed	Yes
Alaska	May 1996	Marriage and civil union[291][299][300]	16	3	31	9	N/A3	Yes
Illinois	May 1996	Marriage[301][302]	42	9	87	17	Signed	Yes2
Tennessee	May 1996	Marriage[290][291]	Passed		90	1	Signed	Yes
South Carolina	May 1996	Marriage[303][304]	Passed		82	0	Signed	Yes
Michigan	June 1996	Marriage[305][306]	31	2	88	14	Signed	Yes
Michigan	June 1996	Recognition of out-of-state marriage[305][306]	Passed		74	28	Signed	Yes
Delaware	June 1996	Marriage[307]	17	3	39	0	Signed	Yes2
North Carolina	June 1996	Marriage and recognition of out-of-state marriage[308][309][310]	41	4	98	10	Signed	Yes
Missouri	July 1996	Marriage[311]	29	2	131	10	Signed	Yes
California	August 1996	Marriage[312]	20	21	Passed		—	No
Oklahoma	September 1996	Marriage[290][291]	42	2	99	0	Signed	Yes
Pennsylvania	October 1996	Marriage[313][314]	43	5	189	13	Signed	Yes
Mississippi	February 1997	Marriage[315]	50	0	118	3	Signed	Yes
Arkansas	February 1997	Marriage[290][316]	34	0	92	2	Signed	Yes
North Dakota	February 1997	Marriage[290][317]	43	6	73	18	Signed	Yes
Texas	February 1997	Marriage[315][318]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Washington	February 1997	Marriage[319]	33	15	63	35	Vetoed	No
Virginia	March 1997	Recognition of out-of-state marriage[290][320]	40	0	87	9	Signed	Yes2
Maine	March 1997	Marriage[321]	24	10	106	39	N/A3	Yes2
Indiana	April 1997	Marriage[322][323]	38	10	85	9	Signed	Yes
Montana	April 1997	Marriage and civil union[290][324]	45	5	73	23	Signed	Yes
Florida	May 1997	Recognition of out-of-state marriage and civil union[290][325]	33	5	97	19	N/A3	Yes
Minnesota	June 1997	Marriage[291][326]	64	0	108	20	Signed	Yes2
Colorado	June 1997	Marriage[327]	Passed		Passed		Vetoed	No
Washington	February 1998	Marriage[328][329]	34	11	65	28	Vetoed 4	Yes2
Kentucky	April 1998	Marriage and recognition out-of-state marriage[291][330]	32	2	84	9	Signed	Yes
Alabama	May 1998	Marriage[331]	30	0	79	12	Signed	Yes
Hawaii	November 1998	Marriage[290]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes2
Puerto Rico	March 1999	Marriage[332]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Louisiana	July 1999	Marriage and recognition of out-of-state marriage[333]	32	0	95	0	Signed	Yes
West Virginia	March 2000	Marriage[334]	Passed		96	3	Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	March 2000	Recognition of out-of-state marriage[335]	—	—	128	232	—	No
Colorado	May 2000	Marriage[336]	Passed		37	28	Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	March 2001	Recognition of out-of-state civil union[337]	—	—	88	276	—	No
Missouri	July 2001	Marriage[338]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
American Samoa	March 2003	Marriage[339]	Failed		—	—	—	No
New Hampshire	March 2003	Recognition of out-of-state civil union[340]	—	—	Failed		—	No
Texas	May 2003	Recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriage and civil union[341]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Wisconsin	November 2003	Marriage[342][343]	22	10	68	29	Vetoed	No
Ohio	February 2004	Marriage, recognition of out-of-state marriage, and civil union[290][344]	72	22	18	15	Signed	Yes
Utah	March 2004	Civil union[290]	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Virginia	April 2004	Civil union[290][345]	27	12	69	30	N/A3	Yes2
New Hampshire	May 2004	Recognition of out-of-state marriage[346]	16	7	215	137	Signed	Yes2
Wyoming	February 2007	Recognition of out-of-state marriage[347]	21	8	—	—	—	No
New Hampshire	March 2008	Recognition of out-of-state union[348]	—	—	Failed		—	No
New Hampshire	March 2009	Civil union[349]	—	—	136	205	—	No
New Hampshire	February 2010	Marriage[350][351]	—	—	109	210	—	No
Wyoming	March 2011	Recognition of out-of-state marriage[352]	14	16	31	28	—	No
New Hampshire	March 2012	Marriage[353]	—	—	116	211	—	No
Wyoming	February 2014	Recognition of out-of-state marriage[158]	—	—	29	31	—	No

Notes:

• ¹ On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges that a fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by the Fourteenth Amendment, and that states must allow same-sex marriage.
• ² Subsequently repealed.
• ³ The bill was allowed to lapse into law.
• ⁴ Veto overridden.

Attempts to establish same-sex unions via initiative or statewide referendum[]

State	Intended date	Same-sex union	Description	Outcome
Maine	November 2012	Marriage	Initiative to establish same-sex marriage.[354]	Yes

Efforts to enable ban amendment[]

State	Date	Type of same-sex union	Upper House		Lower house		Final outcome
			Yes	No	Yes	No
Hawaii	1998	Marriage ban permitted	Passed		Passed		Placed on Ballot
	November 1998		Referendum (69.18%)				Yes
Alaska	1998	Same-sex marriage	14	6	28	12	Placed on Ballot
	November 1998		Referendum (68.1%)				Yes
Indiana	February 2004	Same-sex marriage[355]	42	7	—	—	No
Missouri	2004	Same-sex marriage	Passed		Passed		Placed on Ballot
	August 2004		Referendum (70.6%)				Yes
Louisiana	May/June 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	31	6	64	29	No
					87	11	Placed on Ballot
	September 2004		Referendum (77.79%)				Yes
Mississippi	2004	Same-sex marriage	Passed		Passed		Placed on Ballot
	November 2004		Referendum (86.01%)				Yes
Georgia	February/March 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	40	14	117	50	No
					122	52	Placed on Ballot
	November 2004		Referendum (76.2%)				Yes
Utah	March 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions[356]	20	7	58	14	Placed on Ballot
	November 2004		Referendum (65.86%)				Yes
Kentucky	April 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions[357][358]	33	5	85	11	Placed on Ballot
	November 2004		Referendum (74.55%)				Yes
Oklahoma	April 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	26	19	92	4	Placed on Ballot
	November 2004		Referendum (75.58%)				Yes
Kansas	January/February 2005	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	28	11	86	37	Placed on Ballot
	April 2005		Referendum (69.94%)				Yes
Texas	May 2005	Same-sex marriage and civil unions[359]	21	8	101	29	Placed on Ballot
	November 2005		Referendum (76.25%)				Yes
Alabama	March 2005	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	30	0	85	7	Placed on Ballot
	June 2006		Referendum (81.2%)				Yes
South Carolina	2005	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	Passed		Passed		Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (77.97%)				Yes
South Dakota	February 2005	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	20	14	55	14	Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (51.83%)				Yes
Wisconsin	March 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	20	13	68	27	Advanced
	February 2006		19	14	62	31	Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (59.4%)				Yes
Tennessee	May 2004	Same-sex marriage	28	1	85	5	Advanced
	March 2005		29	3	88	7	Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (81.25%)				Yes
Idaho	February 2006	Same-sex marriage and civil unions[360]	26	9	53	17	Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (63.4%)				Yes
Virginia	March 2006	All types of same-sex unions[361]	28	11	85	12	Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (57.06%)				Yes1
Pennsylvania	June 2006	Same-sex marriage[362]	38	12	136	61	Advanced
	2007/2008		—	—	—	—	No
Arizona	May/June 2008	Same-sex marriage	14	11	35	25	No
					16	4	Placed on Ballot
	November 2008		Referendum (56.2%)				Yes
Wyoming	February 2009	Same-sex marriage[363]	—	—	25	35	No
West Virginia	March 2009	Same-sex marriage[364]	—	—	30	67	No
Indiana	January 2010	Same-sex marriage and civil unions[365]	38	10	—	—	No
New Hampshire	February 2010	Same-sex marriage[366]	—	—	135	201	No
Wyoming	January 2011	Same-sex marriage[367]	20	10	—	—	No
Iowa	February 2011	Same-sex marriage	—	—	62	37	No
North Carolina	September 2011	Same-sex marriage and civil unions[368]	30	16	75	42	Placed on Ballot
	May 2012		Referendum (61.04%)				Yes
Minnesota	May 2011	Same-sex marriage[369]	37	27	70	62	Placed on Ballot
	November 2012		Referendum (47.44%)				No
Indiana	March 2011	Same-sex marriage and civil unions[355]	40	10	70	26	No, Bill was amended
Indiana	February 2014	Same-sex marriage[370][371]	32	17	57	40	Advanced
	2015		—	—	—	—	No

Notes:

• ¹ Subsequently repealed.

Efforts to ban same-sex unions by constitutional amendment[]

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The following table shows all popular vote results regarding state constitutional amendments concerning same-sex marriage, and in some cases civil unions and domestic partnerships. The Hawaii amendment is different in that it granted the legislature authority to "reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples" (which the legislature had already done).

State	Initiative	Ban on	Date	Yes vote		No vote		Total votes	Voter turnout	Electorate	Final outcome1
				Votes	Percentage	Votes	Percentage
Alabama	Amendment 774	Marriage and civil union	June 6, 2006	697,591	81.2%	161,694	18.8%	859,285	25.73%	3,338,467	Yes
Alaska	Ballot Measure 2	Marriage	November 3, 1998	152,965	68.1%	71,631	31.9%	224,596	50.11%	453,332	Yes
Arizona	Proposition 107	Marriage and civil union	November 7, 2006	721,789	48.2%	775,498	51.8%	1,496,987	38.15%	3,923,786	No
Arizona	Proposition 102	Marriage	November 4, 2008	1,258,355	56.2%	980,753	43.8%	2,239,078	55.33%	2,987,451	Yes
Arkansas	Constitutional Amendment 3	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	753,770	74.95%	251,914	25.04%	1,005,684	51.07%	1,969,208	Yes
California	Proposition 8	Marriage	November 4, 2008	7,001,084	52.24%	6,401,482	47.76%	13,743,177	61.73%	22,261,504	Yes2
Colorado	Amendment 43	Marriage	November 7, 2006	855,126	55.02%	699,030	44.98%	1,554,156	47.13%	3,297,308	Yes
Florida	Amendment 2	Marriage and civil union	November 4, 2008	4,890,883	61.92%	3,008,026	38.08%	8,456,329	66.65%	12,687,407	Yes
Georgia	Constitutional Amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	2,454,930	76.2%	768,716	23.8%	3,223,646	54.84%	5,878,186	Yes
Hawaii	Constitutional Amendment 2	Marriage ban permitted	November 3, 1998	285,384	69.18%	117,827	28.56%	403,211			Yes3
Idaho	Amendment 2	Marriage and civil union	November 7, 2006	282,386	63.4%	163,384	36.6%	445,770	49.04%	908,925	Yes
Kansas	Proposed amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	April 5, 2005	417,675	69.94%	179,432	30.06%	597,107			Yes
Kentucky	Constitutional Amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	1,222,125	74.55%	417,097	25.45%	1,639,222	53.6%	3,057,741	Yes
Louisiana	Constitutional Amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	September 18, 2004	619,908	77.79%	177,067	22.21%	796,975	25.04%	3,182,762	Yes
Michigan	State Proposal - 04-2	All types of same-sex unions4	November 2, 2004	2,698,077	58.63%	1,904,319	41.37%	4,602,396	63.36%	7,263,024	Yes
Minnesota	Amendment 1	Marriage	November 6, 2012	1,399,916	47.44%	1,550,864	52.56%	2,950,780	76.11%	3,876,752	No
Mississippi	Amendment 1	Marriage	November 2, 2004	957,104	86.01%	155,648	13.99%	1,112,752	53.78%	2,068,766	Yes
Missouri	Constitutional Amendment 2	Marriage	August 3, 2004	1,055,771	70.6%	439,529	29.4%	1,495,300	35.76%	4,180,960	Yes
Montana	Initiative 96	Marriage	November 2, 2004	295,070	66.55%	148,263	33.45%	443,333	63.41%	699,114	Yes
Nebraska	Initiative Measure 416	All types of same-sex unions	November 7, 2000	450,07	70.36%	189,555	29.64%	639,628	52.24%	1,224,178	Yes
Nevada	Question 2	Marriage	November 7, 2000	412,688	69.62%	180,077	30.38%	592,765	44.03%	1,346,116	Yes6
	Question 2	Marriage	November 7, 2002	337,197	67.20%	164,573	32.80%	501,770	42.61%	1,391,100	Yes6
North Carolina	Amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	May 8, 2012	1,317,178	61.04%	840,802	38.96%	2,157,980	34.66%	6,296,759	Yes
North Dakota	Constitutional Measure 1	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	223,572	73.23%	81,716	26.77%	305,288	63.24%	482,722	Yes
Ohio	State Issue 1	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	3,329,335	61.71%	2,065,462	38.29%	5,394,797	64.01%	8,427,696	Yes
Oklahoma	State Question 711	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	1,075,216	75.58%	347,303	24.42%	1,422,519	56.65%	2,510,823	Yes
Oregon	Measure 36	Marriage	November 2, 2004	1,028,546	56.63%	787,556	43.37%	1,816,102	71.19%	2,550,887	Yes
South Carolina	Amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	November 7, 2006	829,360	77.97%	234,316	22.03%	1,063,676	33.74%	3,152,046	Yes
South Dakota	Amendment C	All types of same-sex unions	November 7, 2006	172,305	51.83%	160,152	48.17%	332,457	57.26%	580,592	Yes
Tennessee	Amendment 1	Marriage	November 7, 2006	1,419,434	81.3%	327,536	18.7%	1,746,970	39.4%	4,433,921	Yes
Texas	Proposition 2	Marriage and civil union	November 8, 2005	1,723,782	76.25%	536,913	23.74%	2,260,695	17.97%	12,577,545	Yes
Utah	Constitutional Amendment 3	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	593,297	65.86%	307,488	34.14%	900,785	57.21%	1,574,463	Yes5
Virginia	Marshall-Newman Amendment	All types of same-sex unions	November 7, 2006	1,328,537	57.06%	999,687	42.94%	2,328,224	43.23%	5,385,522	Yes
Wisconsin	Referendum 1	Marriage and civil union	November 7, 2006	1,264,310	59.4%	862,924	40.6%	2,127,234	52.33%	4,064,432	Yes

Notes:

• ¹ On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges that a fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by the Fourteenth Amendment, and that states must allow same-sex marriage.
• ² On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court ruled that supporters of the measure did not have standing in federal court to defend the August 2010 ruling by Northern District of California's Chief Judge Vaughn Walker that the amendment was unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, effectively killing the ballot initiative.
• ³ Does not explicitly define marriage, but allows the legislature to define marriage.
• ⁴ On June 28, 2013, U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson issued a preliminary injunction blocking the state from enforcing its law banning local governments and school districts from offering health benefits to their employees' domestic partners.^[372][373]
• ⁵ On December 20, 2013, Judge Robert J. Shelby of Federal District Court for the District of Utah, issued a 53-page ruling that said Utah's law, which was passed by voters in 2004, violated the US Constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment.^[374]
• ⁶ Subsequently repealed.

Post-Obergefell attempts to repeal constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions[]

State	Date	Type of same-sex union	Upper House		Lower house		Final outcome
			Yes	No	Yes	No
Nevada	2017	Same-sex marriage	19	2	27	14	Advanced
	March/May 2019		19	2	37	2	Placed on Ballot
	November 2020		Referendum (62.4%)				Yes
Virginia	February 2021	Same-sex marriage, civil union and any marriage-like contract between unmarried persons	24	12	60	33	Advanced
	2022

Proposed attempts to constitutionally block same-sex unions[]

State	2000s	2010s	2014	Details
Delaware	2009			A proposed constitutional amendment, Senate Bill 27, to ban same-sex marriage failed.[375]	Failed
Indiana	2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009	2010 2011	2014	On February 15, 2011, the Indiana House approved a ban on civil unions and marriage (70-26). The bill passed the Indiana Senate by a 40-10 vote. According to state law, the bill must now be approved by the next, separately elected legislature before voters will see the measure on the 2014 ballot.[376] On January 27, 2014, the Indiana House voted 52-43 to remove the ban on civil unions from the proposed measure.[377] On January 28, 2014, the Indiana House voted 57-40 in favor of the amended measure.[378] On February 17, 2014, the Indiana Senate voted 32-17 approving the House-amended version of the ban on gay marriage. The measure will now need to be approved by the next, separately elected legislature before voters are allowed to decide its fate in 2016.[379]	Failed
Iowa	2004 2005	2010 2011		After the Iowa Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal in 2009, a backlash quickly developed that resulted in three of the justices losing their seats in the 2010 election. Additionally, Republicans took control of the House and fell one seat short of taking over the Senate. For a proposed constitutional amendment to come before Iowa voters, it has to be approved in exactly the same form by two consecutive general assemblies.[380]	Failed
Minnesota	2004 2005 2006 2007 2009	2011		A bill was sponsored in 2009 but failed to be brought up for a vote. An amendment was introduced again in 2011. The House and Senate bills passed.[381][382] Both are referred to other area.[clarification needed] The bill would have been approved by majority by both the Senate and house by May 23, 2011.[clarification needed] On May 11, 2011, the Senate passed the bill 38-27.[383] On May 22, 2011, an amendment was passed in the house by a vote of 70-62, and was placed on the ballot in the November 2012 election.[384]	Failed
New Hampshire	2006 2007	2010		On February 17, 2010, a proposed constitutional amendment failed in the house by a 201-135 margin.[385][386] Constitutional amendments in New Hampshire require two-thirds approval from voters.	Failed
New Jersey	2006 2007 2008	2010		Bills to place an amendment on the ballot have all failed in the House or Senate Judiciary Committee.	Failed
New Mexico	2007 2008 2009	2010 2011 2013	2014	A joint resolution was prefiled in the New Mexico legislature for the 2014 session.[387] The resolution would define marriage as one man and one woman for the state of New Mexico.[388]	Failed
Pennsylvania	2006 2008 2009	2010 2011 2013		A joint resolution was introduced in the house of representatives with record low sponsorship on May 8, 2013. The bill would ban same-sex marriages and civil unions. Pennsylvania would become the first northeastern state with a marriage amendment. According to state law, the amendment must receive a majority vote from both chambers of the legislature in two consecutive sessions before voters are allowed to decide its fate. The soonest voters could see the measure is in 2015.[389][390]	Failed
West Virginia	2009	2010 2011		West Virginia senators proposed a constitutional amendment for the 2010 ballot that would have defined marriage as "a union between and man and a woman". The amendment was defeated.[391][392] Another proposition was introduced in January 2011[393] but failed to advance.	Failed
Wyoming	2009	2011		In 2009, the house of representatives considered an amendment to the state constitution, House Joint Resolution 17 (also known as the "Defense of Marriage" resolution), defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The measure was defeated in the house on February 6, with 35 votes against and 25 in favor. On January 27, 2011, the Senate approved an amendment,[394] but it died in the house.[395]	Failed

Efforts to ban same-sex unions by statute[]

The following consists of votes by statutory initiatives that ban same-sex marriage and/or civil unions and domestic partnerships:

State	Date	Yes vote	No vote	Description	Final outcome
California	March 2000	61% (4,618,673)	39% (2,909,370)	Proposition 22. Amend the Family Code to say: Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.[396]1	Yes2 3

Notes:

• ¹ There is a debate as to whether the adoption of Prop 22 only prohibited California from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.
• ² In March 2005, Judge Richard Kramer ruled there appeared to be no rational state compelling interest in limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. His ruling was appealed to the California Court of Appeal for the 1st District, which upheld Proposition 22 on October 5, 2006. The Supreme Court of California ruled on May 15, 2008, that Proposition 22 is unconstitutional and it was struck down by the state's highest court.
• ³ Subsequently repealed by state legislature.

Lawsuits seeking to overturn statutory bans[]

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The following lists cases seeking to overturn marriage bans:

State	Case	Date	Vote for	Vote against	Description	Restrictions unconstitutional?	Final outcome
Minnesota	Richard John Baker v. Gerald R. Nelson	October 15, 1971	0	7	Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Minnesota's marriage statute applied only to opposite-sex couples.[397] The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, but dismissed on October 10, 1972.[398]	No	No
Kentucky	Jones v. Callahan	November 9, 1973	0	7	Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that Kentucky's marriage statute applied only to opposite-sex couples.[399]	No	No
Washington	Singer v. Hara	October 1974	Failed		Washington Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of same-sex couple who were denied a marriage license by their county clerk. Washington Court of Appeals's decision stating that state marriage statutes only applied to opposite-sex couples upheld.[400]	No	No
District of Columbia	Dean v. District of Columbia'	January 1995	0	9	District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that District's marriage statute applied only to opposite-sex couples.[401][402]	No	No
Hawaii	Baehr v. Miike	December 9, 1999	0	5	Hawaii Supreme Court ruled on May 5, 1993, in a 3 in favor to 1 against decision, that state must provide a compelling interest to restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples. Remanded case to lower courts for trial on the subject. On December 3, 1996, Judge Chang ruled that the state had not established any compelling interest in denying same-sex couples the ability to marry and that, even if it had, it failed to prove that the Hawaii statute was narrowly tailored to avoid unnecessary abridgement of constitutional rights. He enjoined the state from refusing to issue marriage licenses to otherwise-qualified same-sex couples.[403] The following day Chang stayed his ruling, acknowledging the "legally untenable" position couples would be in should the Supreme Court reverse him on appeal.[404] Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs' arguments were moot in light of 1998 state constitutional amendment.[405]	No	No
Vermont	Baker v. Vermont	December 20, 1999	5	0	Vermont Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriage or something similar must be implemented in 100 days.[406]	Yes	Legalized civil unions in Vermont by Vermont General Assembly
Alaska	Brause v. Alaska Dept of Health & Social Services	April 17, 2001	0	5	Alaska Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs' arguments were moot in light of 1998 state constitutional amendment.[407]	No	No
Massachusetts	Goodridge v. Department of Public Health	November 18, 2003	4	3	Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules that same-sex marriages must be legal in 180 days.[408]	Yes	Legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts on May 17, 2004
Arizona	Harold Donald Standhardt and Tod Alan Keltner v. State of Arizona	May 25, 2004	Failed		Arizona Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a unanimous Arizona Appellate Court ruling upholding statutory marriage ban.[409][410]	No	No
Louisiana		January 19, 2005	0	7	District Judge William Morvant of Baton Rouge struck down the constitutional amendment on the grounds that it violated a provision of the state constitution requiring that an amendment cover only one subject. The Louisiana Supreme Court, however, upheld the constitutional amendment.[411]	No	No
Oregon	Mary Li and Rebecca Kennedy et al. v. State of Oregon et al.	April 2005	0	7	Oregon Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs' arguments were moot in light of 2004 state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.[412]	No	No
New York	Hernandez v. Robles	July 6, 2006	2	4	New York Court of Appeals upheld New York's marriage statute did not allow same-sex marriage, and that there is no constitutional right to same-sex marriage.[413]	No	No
Georgia	Perdue v. O'Kelley	July 7, 2006	0	7	On May 16, 2006, Constance C. Russell of Fulton County Superior Court struck down the constitutional amendment on the grounds that it violated a provision of the state constitution requiring that an amendment cover only one subject. The Georgia Supreme Court, however, upheld the constitutional amendment.[414]	No	No
Washington	Andersen v. King County	July 26, 2006	4	5	Washington Supreme Court upholds Washington's statute banning same-sex marriage.[415]	No	No
New Jersey	Lewis v. Harris	October 25, 2006	7	0	New Jersey Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriage or something similar must be implemented in 100 days.[416]	Yes	Legalized civil unions in New Jersey by New Jersey General Assembly
Maryland	Conaway v. Deane & Polyak	September 2007	3	4	Maryland Court of Appeals upholds Maryland's statute banning same-sex marriage.[417]	No	No
Michigan	Pride at Work v. Granholm	May 7, 2008	5	2	Michigan Supreme Court ruled that Michigan's constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions also applies to domestic partner benefits.[418][419]	No	Constitution of Michigan prohibits domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples
California	In re Marriage Cases	May 15, 2008	4	3	California Supreme Court overturns Proposition 22 and rules that in 30 days, same-sex marriages must be legal.[420]	Yes	Same-sex marriage licenses issued in California from June 17, 2008 to November 5, 2008  On November 5, 2008, Proposition 8 goes into effect banning same-sex marriage in the Constitution of California
Connecticut	Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health	October 10, 2008	4	3	Connecticut Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriages must be legal in 30 days.[421]	Yes	Legalized same-sex marriage in Connecticut on November 12, 2008
Iowa	Varnum v. Brien	April 2009	7	0	Iowa Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriages must be legal in 27 days.[422]	Yes	Legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa on April 27, 2009
California	Strauss v. Horton	May 26, 2009	1	6	California Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8; however, same-sex marriages performed before November 5, 2008, are also upheld.[423]	No	California Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8; however, same-sex marriages performed before November 5, 2008, are also upheld.
New York	Lewis v. New York State Department of Civil Service	November 2009	3	2	The case challenging the recognition of same-sex marriages in the state of New York was heard by New York Court of Appeals and upheld the rights that came with the recognition of same-sex marriages.[424]	Recognition upheld	Continuing the recognition of same-sex marriages abroad.
Wisconsin	McConkey v. Van Hollen	June 30, 2010	0	7	Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds constitutional amendment.[425]	No	No
Wyoming	Christiansen v. Christiansen	June 2011	Allowed		Wyoming Supreme Court allows two Wyoming residents to dissolve a legal relationship created under the laws of Canada.[426]	Yes	Couple can divorce in Wyoming
Maryland	McConkey v. Van Hollen	May 18, 2012	7	0	Maryland Court of Appeals upholds Maryland's recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages.[427]	Recognition upheld	Continuing the recognition of same-sex marriages abroad.
Wisconsin	Appling v. Doyle	July 31, 2014	7	0	On November 4, 2009, Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to hear the challenge to Wisconsin's domestic partnership.[428] On June 20, 2011, the Circuit court Judge Dan Moeser ruled that the domestic partnership registry does not violate the state constitution, finding that the state "does not recognize domestic partnership in a way that even remotely resembles how the state recognizes marriage".[429] On December 21, 2012, District 4 Court of Appeals affirms Judge Moeser's decision in a unanimous ruling.[430] On July 31, 2014, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the domestic partnership law does not violate the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.[431]	Recognition upheld	Wisconsin's domestic partnership law is upheld.
Montana	Donaldson and Guggenheim v. State of Montana	December 2012	3	4	Montana Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's dismissal of this case because the plaintiffs had not identified specific state statutes in their complaint. They did not seek the right to marry, but equal treatment for same-sex couples with respect to inheritance rights, health care decisions, and parenting. The Court invited the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint citing specific statutes,[432] which the plaintiffs, did on April 16, 2013.[433]	No	Pending (Lewis and Clark County District Court)
New Mexico	Griego v. Oliver	December 19, 2013	5	0	On 21 March 2013 ACLU filed a lawsuit in the Albuquerque District court on behalf of two New Mexico couples who are seeking the right to marry. On 19 December 2013 New Mexico's Supreme Court declared that denying marriage to same-sex couples is unconstitutional in the state.[434]	Yes	Legalized same-sex marriage in New Mexico on December 19, 2013
Texas	In Re Marriage of J.B. and H.B.	June 19, 2015	n/a	n/a	County judge ruled statutory and constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in violation of the US constitution; appealed to 5th Texas Court of Appeals. The court says Texas's same-sex marriage ban is constitutional.[435] The Fifth Circuit denied en banc review. J.B. sought review from the Texas Supreme Court in February 2011 and that court requested briefs in October.[436] On July 3, 2013, the Texas Supreme Court sua sponte ordered supplemental merits briefing in light of United States v. Windsor.[437]	Case dismissed on June 19, 2015 because a Petitioner died.
Texas	Texas v. Naylor	June 19, 2015	5	3	On January 7, 2011, the Third Court of Appeals in Austin in the case of State of Texas v. Angelique S. Naylor and Sabina Daly rejected, on procedural grounds, the Texas attorney general's appeal of a divorce granted by a lower court to a same-sex couple married in Massachusetts.[438][439] The appeal was still pending in December 2012.[440]	Third Court of Appeals upheld in a 5-3 decision on June 19, 2015. The Court ruled that the Texas government had no standing to intervene in the divorce.

See also[]

• Same-sex marriage in the United States
• Same-sex marriage status in the United States by state
• Same-sex marriage law in the United States by state
• Same-sex marriage in tribal nations in the United States
• Same-sex union legislation
• Divorce of same-sex couples

References[]