States
For a full breakdown of where state laws stand, click here.Twelve states - CT, DE (takes effect July 1), IA, ME, MD, MA, MN (takes effect August 1), NH, NY, RI (takes effect August 1), VT, and WA - plus Washington, D.C. have the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. In 2012, the legislature in NJ passed a freedom to marry bill, and work is now underway to override the governor's veto.
NM explicitly respects out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples, while seven states now offer broad protections short of marriage. CO, HI, and IL, NJ allow civil union, while CA, OR, and NV offer broad domestic partnership. WI has more limited domestic partnership.
With these advances, a record number of Americans live in states that recognize relationships between same-sex couples:
- Nearly 17% of the U.S. population lives in a state that either has the freedom to marry or honors out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.
- Over 40% of the U.S. population lives in a state with either marriage or a broad legal status such as civil union or domestic partnership.
- Over 42% of the U.S. population lives in a state that provides some form of protections for gay couples.
