Mississippi

STATUS: Anti-marriage constitutional amendment

TAKE ACTION: State activists are working toward fairness for all of Mississippi's families by overturning a constitutional amendment that prohibits marriage between same-sex couples in the state.

HISTORY: In 2004, anti-gay forces in Mississippi pushed through Amendment 1, a constitutional amendment that excludes same-sex couples from marriage.

GROUPS ACTIVELY WORKING ON MARRIAGE:

  • Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage for same-sex couples nationwide. 
  • Human Rights Campaign is the United States' largest civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality. 
POLLING DATA: Support for the freedom to marry has nearly doubled in the past 8 years, with 34% of the state's residents now supporting marriage. In 2004, just 18% were supportive. (Williams Institute, 2012)    

NUMBER OF SAME-SEX COUPLES: According to The Williams Institute's analysis of the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,484 same-sex couples are living in Mississippi, representing 3.1 same-sex couples per 1,000 households.

Blog Posts Related to Mississippi

Couples across the south stand up for marriage with the Campaign for Southern Equality

For the past week, the Campaign for Southern Equality has been touring across the South with its "We Do" campaign, where same-sex couples request marriage licenses and provoke denials in order to illustrate the discriminatory marriage laws in these states. Check out stories and video from the campaign!

‘We Do’ campaign will confront marriage discrimination across the south

For over a year, the Campaign for Southern Equality has been leading the We Do campaign, where same-sex couples request - and are denied - marriage licenses in their home communities. As they gear up for Stage 4 of their campaign, Freedom to Marry spoke with Rev. Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, the organization's Executive Director.

Opinion: Outside agitators

Tim Rutten criticizes out-of-state groups and individuals, such as the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage and prominent Utah Mormon, Alan Ashton, that have inserted themselves in campaigns against marriage equality in Iowa and California.

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Resources Related to Mississippi

Census 2010: More Gay Parents Raising Children in South

UCLA demographers analyzing 2010 Census Bureau data have found that same-sex couples raising children are more common in the South than in any other region in the United States.

Mississippi Census Snapshot

Demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Mississippi.

Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples in the U.S. Census and the American Community Survey

Groundbreaking research showing a huge increase in same-sex couples identifying themselves as "unmarried partners".

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