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.
While one state (Massachusetts) allows same-sex couples to marry, there are three states — Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New York — that officially pledge non-discrimination against marriages between same-sex couples. Rhode Island recognizes marriages between such couples performed in Massachusetts while New York recognizes such marriages performed in Massachusetts between May 17, 2004 and July 6, 2006, as well as marriages celebrated in Canada and elsewhere. But couples cannot, as yet, marry at home in New York.
Various states now offer broad protections short of marriage including civil unions in Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New Hampshire (law takes effect in January 2008) and broad domestic partnerships in California and Oregon (law took effect in January 2008). Smaller packages of protections for same-sex couples are available in Maine, Hawaii, Washington, and the District of Columbia. All of these states continue to work toward marriage.
In 2007, a record number of marriage equality bills (11) were introduced, while courts in states such as California, Iowa, and Connecticut continued to hear cases brought by couples challenging their unfair exclusion from marriage.
WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:
Equality FederationEquality 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 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!
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.
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.
