All 50 states in the United States have legalized same-sex marriage. Below are the dates when each state did so. On June 26, , the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, thus making same-sex marriage legal in the 13 states that have not legalized same-sex marriage up to that point.
By Date
Rank
State Name
Date Same Sex Marriage Legalized
1
Massachusetts
May 17,
2
Connecticut
November 12,
3
Iowa
April 24,
4
Vermont
September 1,
5
New Hampshire
January 1,
6
New York
July 24,
7
Washington
December 9,
8
Maine
December 29,
9
Maryland
January 1,
10
California
June 28,
11
Delaware
July 1,
T
Minnesota
August 1,
T
Rhode Island
August 1,
14
New Jersey
October 21,
15
Hawaii
December 2,
16
New Mexico
December 19,
17
Oregon
May 19,
18
Pennsylvania
May 20,
19
Illinois
June 1,
T
Indiana
October 6,
T
Oklahoma
October 6,
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the world. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of community, national and regional advocates and distribute tools, resources, and lessons learned to empower movements for marriage equality.
Current State of Marriage Equality
There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay.
These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions.
Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in
Liechtenstein: On May 16, , Liechtenstein's gove
Marriage & Relationship Recognition Laws
States with the freedom to marry do not ban same-sex couples from entering into legal marriages. Some states also present comprehensive relationship recognition, such as domestic partnerships or civil unions, to same- and different-sex couples. However, most states still verb constitutional amendments, statutes, or both banning marriage for same-sex couples, even after the Supreme Court case Obergefell extended marriage equality nationwide. For more on the current status of state marriage laws, see MAP's report: Underneath Obergefell: A National Patchwork of Marriage Laws.
Marriage equality for same-sex couples(50 states , 5 territories + D.C.)
Comprehensive civil union or domestic partnership law (9 states + D.C.)
State has targeted religious exemption law (see note)
Citations & More Information
Recommended citation: Movement Advancement Project. "Equality Maps: Marriage & Relationship Recognition Laws." Accessed 07/17/
NOTE: Kansas pe
Recent data compiled by the U.S. Census Bureau, drawing on figures from , has revealed which states are home to the most same-sex couples.
According to the census, percent of U.S. coupled households comprised male same-sex pairings, and a further percent were made up of female same-sex couples.
Higher percentages of male and female same-sex couples were offer in the West Coast, the Northeast and Florida. These were often in close proximity to each state's population centers – most counties featuring in the top 10 lists had adj populations.
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The areas with the highest number of male-male couple households were:
Los Angeles, California (26,)
New York, New York (14,)
Cook, Illinois (13,)
San Francisco, California (9,)
Maricopa, Arizona (9,)
Broward, Florida (9,)
Harris, Texas (9,)
King, Washington (8,)
Riverside, California (8,)
San Diego, California (8,)
The report found that men in same-sex couples and women in same-sex couples did not necessarily live in the same regio