Can gays marry in all states
What the Same Sex Marriage Bill Does and Doesn't Do
The U.S. Senate passed landmark legislation this week enshrining protections for same sex and interracial marriages in federal rule in a bipartisan vote that marked a dramatic turnaround on a once highly divisive issue.
The Senate operation marks a major hurdle for the legislation, which President Biden has said he will approve into law pending a vote in the House of Representatives.
Leonore F. Carpenter, a Rutgers Rule School professor who has served as an LGBTQA rights attorney, explains what the Respect for Marriage Act accomplishes, and what is does not.
What exactly does the Respect for Marriage Act act to protect gay marriage?
The Act does a few vital things.
First, it repeals the federal Defense of Marriage Proceed. That law was passed in 1996, and it prohibited the federal government from recognizing queer marriages that had been validly entered into under a state’s law. It also gave the green light to states to decline to recognize homosexual marriages from other states.
Next, it prohibits states from refusing to notice same-sex marriages that are validly entered into in a different state. It’s also impo
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the world. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of community, national and regional advocates and share tools, resources, and lessons learned to authorize movements for marriage equality.
Current State of Marriage Equality
There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay.
These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions.
Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in 2025
Liechtenstein: On May 16, 2024, Liechtenstein's government passed a bill in favor of marriage equality. The law went into effect January 1, 2025.
MAP Report: The National Patchwork of Marriage Laws Underneath Obergefell
Rebecca Farmer, Movement Advancement Project
rebecca@lgbtmap.org | 303-578-4600 ext 122
As the Respect for Marriage Act moves through Congress, MAP’s March 2022 report on the landscape of varying state marriage laws around the country is a resource. MAP researchers are available to react questions and our infographics are available for use.
MAP’s report, Underneath Obergefell, explores the patchwork of marriage laws around the country. The report highlights the truth that a majority of states still have existing laws on the books that would ban marriage for same-sex couples – even though those laws are currently unenforceable under the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell.
If the U.S. Supreme Court were to revisit the Obergefell decision, the ability of same-sex couples to wed could again fall to the states, where a majority of states still have in place both bans in the rule and in state constitutions.
The policy landscape for state marriage laws can be broken into four major categ
The Journey to Marriage Equality in the Merged States
The road to nationwide marriage equality was a long one, spanning decades of United States history and culminating in victory in June 2015. Throughout the long struggle for marriage equality, HRC was at the forefront.
Volunteer with HRC
From gathering supporters in small towns across the country to rallying in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, we gave our all to assure every person, regardless of whom they love, is recognized equally under the law.
A Growing Call for Equality
Efforts to legalize homosexual marriage began to pop up across the land in the 1990s, and with it challenges on the state and national levels. Civil unions for same-sex couples existed in many states but created a separate but matching standard. At the federal level, couples were denied access to more than 1,100 federal rights and responsibilities associated with the institution, as well as those denied by their given state. The Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law in 1996 and defined marriage by the federal government as between a gentleman and woman, thereby allowing states to deny marriage equality.
New Century & VICE, CRIME, AND AMERICAN LAW
Marriage laws are not federal. Each state has always been free to determine its possess laws concerning marriage. The first major legal case involving gay marriage occurred in Hawaii in 1993. At that time the Hawaii Supreme Court commanded that the declare could not prohibit same-sex marriages without providing a "compelling reason." Shortly after, courts in Alaska reached the identical conclusion. The legislatures of both states responded to the courts by pushing through amendments to their state constitutions which prohibited all gay marriages. Since then 37 states have enacted a ban on queer marriages in some form.
In addition, congress passed the "defense of marriage act" (DOMA) in 1996. DOMA sought to accomplish two things. First, DOMA prevents the federal government from acknowledging any gay marriage by defining marriage as between one man and one woman. This would allow that a gay couple could be married under state law but the federal government would not distinguish the existence of a marriage. Second, DOMA provides a shield allowing a state to disallow to recognize a gay marriage from another state. Traditionally, if one is married in declare X, then declare Y w
VICE, CRIME, AND AMERICAN LAW
Marriage laws are not federal. Each state has always been free to determine its possess laws concerning marriage. The first major legal case involving gay marriage occurred in Hawaii in 1993. At that time the Hawaii Supreme Court commanded that the declare could not prohibit same-sex marriages without providing a "compelling reason." Shortly after, courts in Alaska reached the identical conclusion. The legislatures of both states responded to the courts by pushing through amendments to their state constitutions which prohibited all gay marriages. Since then 37 states have enacted a ban on queer marriages in some form.
In addition, congress passed the "defense of marriage act" (DOMA) in 1996. DOMA sought to accomplish two things. First, DOMA prevents the federal government from acknowledging any gay marriage by defining marriage as between one man and one woman. This would allow that a gay couple could be married under state law but the federal government would not distinguish the existence of a marriage. Second, DOMA provides a shield allowing a state to disallow to recognize a gay marriage from another state. Traditionally, if one is married in declare X, then declare Y w