Same-sex marriage in the United States

Jack Baker and Michael McConnell (r), the first same-sex couple ever legally married in the United States (in 1971), at their Minneapolis home, 1970
Part of the LGBTQ rights series
Marriage

Recognized

Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. ^ a b Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  2. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
  3. ^ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
  4. ^ a b Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. ^ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
  6. ^ a b c d e The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
  7. ^ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
  8. ^ Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care.
  9. ^ Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  10. ^ Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  11. ^ Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
  12. ^ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights.
  13. ^ Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
  1. ^ a b Not yet in effect.
LGBTQ portal

The availability of legally recognized same-sex marriage in the United States expanded from one state (Massachusetts) in 2004 to all fifty states in 2015 through various court rulings, state legislation, and direct popular votes. States each have separate marriage laws, which must adhere to rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States that recognize marriage as a fundamental right guaranteed by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as first established in the 1967 landmark civil rights case of Loving v. Virginia.

Civil rights campaigning in support of marriage without distinction as to sex or sexual orientation began in the 1970s.[1] In 1972, the now overturned Baker v. Nelson saw the Supreme Court of the United States decline to become involved.[2] The issue became prominent from around 1993, when the Supreme Court of Hawaii ruled in Baehr v. Lewin that it was unconstitutional under the Constitution of Hawaii for the state to abridge marriage on the basis of sex. That ruling led to federal and state actions to explicitly abridge marriage on the basis of sex in order to prevent the marriages of same-sex couples from being recognized by law, the most prominent of which was the 1996 federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that it was unconstitutional under the Constitution of Massachusetts for the state to abridge marriage on the basis of sex. From 2004 through to 2015, as the tide of public opinion continued to move towards support of same-sex marriage, various state court rulings, state legislation, direct popular votes (referendums and initiatives), and federal court rulings established same-sex marriage in thirty-six of the fifty states.

The most prominent supporters of same-sex marriage are human rights and civil rights organizations, while the most prominent opponents are religious groups, though some religious organizations support marriage equality.[3] The first two decades of the 21st century saw same-sex marriage receive support from prominent figures in the civil rights movement, including Coretta Scott King, John Lewis, Julian Bond, and Mildred Loving.[4] In May 2012, the NAACP, the leading African-American civil rights organization, declared its support for same-sex marriage and stated that it is a civil right.[5]

In June 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down DOMA for violating the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution in the landmark civil rights case of United States v. Windsor, leading to federal recognition of same-sex marriage, with federal benefits for married couples connected to either the state of residence or the state in which the marriage was solemnized. In June 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in the landmark civil rights case of Obergefell v. Hodges that the fundamental right of same-sex couples to marry on the same terms and conditions as opposite-sex couples, with all the accompanying rights and responsibilities, is guaranteed by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. On December 13, 2022, DOMA was repealed and replaced by the Respect for Marriage Act, which recognizes and protects same-sex and interracial marriages under federal law and in interstate relations.

Gallup found that nationwide public support for same-sex marriage reached 50% in 2011,[6] 60% in 2015,[7] and 70% in 2021.[8] In the 2020 United States census, same-sex married couples accounted for 0.5% of all U.S. households while unmarried same-sex couples accounted for 0.4% of all U.S. households.[9]

A study of nationwide data from January 1999 to December 2015 revealed that the establishment of same-sex marriage is associated with a significant reduction in the rate of attempted suicide among teens, with the effect being concentrated among teens of a minority sexual orientation, resulting in approximately 134,000 fewer teens attempting suicide each year in the United States.

  1. ^ "The Same-Sex Couple Who Got a Marriage License in 1971". The New York Times. May 16, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2018.
  2. ^ Andrew Gumbel. "The Great Undoing?". The Advocate. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  3. ^ "North Carolina | Freedom to Marry".
  4. ^ Michael Long (January 31, 2013). "Coretta's Big Dream: Coretta Scott King on Gay Rights". HuffPost. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
    Jeanne Theoharis (February 3, 2018). "'I am not a symbol, I am an activist': the untold story of Coretta Scott King". The Guardian. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
    Douglas Martin (June 18, 2007). "Mildred Loving, 40 Years Later". The Atlantic. Retrieved March 11, 2015.
    Douglas Martin (May 6, 2008). "Mildred Loving, Who Battled Ban on Mixed-Race Marriage, Dies at 68". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
    Star-Ledger Editorial Board (December 9, 2009). "Gay marriage: NAACP chairman Julian Bond says gay rights are civil rights". NJ.com. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
    "Civil Rights Community Mourns Death Of Julian Bond". NPR. August 17, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
    "Georgia Congressman John Lewis reacts to gay marriage ruling". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. June 26, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
    Office of Congressman John Lewis. "LGBT RIGHTS". House.gov. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2018.
  5. ^ "NAACP Passes Resolution In Support Of Marriage Equality". NAACP. May 20, 2018. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2018.
    "NAACP Speaks Out For Marriage Equality". NAACP. April 2, 2013. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
    Michael Barbaro (May 19, 2012). "In Largely Symbolic Move, N.A.A.C.P. Votes to Endorse Same-Sex Marriage". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2018.
  6. ^ Newport, Frank (May 20, 2011). "For First Time, Majority of Americans Favor Legal Gay Marriage". Gallup. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  7. ^ McCarthy, Justin (May 19, 2015). "Record-High 60% of Americans Support Same-Sex Marriage". Gallup. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Overberg, Paul; DeBarros, Anthony (May 25, 2023). "Same-Sex Couples Accounted for 1% of Households in 2020, Census Shows". The Wall Street Journal. News Corp. Retrieved September 5, 2023.