Freedom To Marry

The gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality nationwide

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States

Click on a state or choose one from our drop-down menu to find the latest developments, state organizations, and action alerts on a local level.

states Arizona Rhode Island DC Massachusetts Maryland Hawaii Delaware Vermont New Hampshire New Mexico Washington Montana Minnesota Iowa Illinois Colorado Indiana Nevada Utah Kansas Oregon Missouri Wisconsin Louisiana Mississippi Alabama Georgia Michigan Michigan Ohio Tennessee Kentucky South Carolina North Carolina Virginia Pennsylvania New York Florida Maine New Jersey Nebraska Alaska Idaho Wyoming North Dakota South Dakota Oklahoma Arkansas West Virginia California

 

While three states (Massachusetts, Connecticut, and California) uphold the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, there are four states — Massachusetts, California, Rhode Island, and New York — that officially pledge non-discrimination against marriages between same-sex couples.

  • Because New Mexico’s laws do not prohibit marriage between same-sex couples, there is no impediment to New Mexico same-sex couples marrying in Massachusetts or California and having their marriage honored in New Mexico.  While Massachusett’s government directed that licenses could be given to New Mexico couples, the New Mexico state government has not taken action to ensure they will be honored.

Anti-gay initiatives in California, Florida, and Arizona have qualified for the ballot in November 2008.  Each would write discrimination into their state constitutions, and California’s would take away the equality and fairness achieved by California’s Supreme Court ruling to uphold the freedom to marry in May 2008. 

Various states now offer broad protections short of marriage including civil unions in Vermont, New Jersey, and New Hampshire and broad domestic partnerships in California and Oregon. Smaller packages of protections for same-sex couples are available in Maine, Hawaii, Washington, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. All of these states continue to work toward marriage.

 

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WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:

Equality Federation
Equality Federation is the national alliance of state-based lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy organizations.  The Federation works to achieve equality for lgbt people in every state and territory by building strong and sustainable statewide organizations in a state-based movement.

 

 

 

Why Marriage Matters

Why Marriage Matters America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry.
By Evan Wolfson
Read reviews! Purchase the book or receive a signed copy as a thank you for your donation!

Sharing Our Stories

Read families’ stories about how marriage discrimination affects everyday life. These stories communicate, in concrete ways, how the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage hurts families and helps no one.

The Marriage Basics

Start in The Marriage Basics to get short answers to your big questions about the freedom to marry, and learn more about the protections and responsibilities of marriage, the historical background for this civil rights movement, why separate is not equal, and so much more.