….35 States Ban Gay Marriage, 7 Allow Gay Marriage, 11 States Recognize Civil Unions, 3 States Vote on Gay Marriage in 2012
The laws are anything but uniform, and I won’t get into the gritty details on whether the law is a constitutional amendment, or just a normal law passed by the legistature, that either allows or doesn’t allow gay marriage. Instead I’ll simply give you the STRAIGHT facts so you can easily understand which U.S. states support gay marriage, and which prohibit gay marriage.
Table of Contents
- WHAT STATES ALLOW GAY MARRIAGE?
- WHAT STATES BAN GAY MARRIAGE?
- WHAT STATES ARE VOTING ON GAY MARRIAGE THIS YEAR (2012)?
- WHAT STATES RECOGNIZE CIVIL UNIONS OR DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS?
35 STATES BAN GAY MARRIAGE
1. Alabama (Banned in 2006)
2. Alaska (Banned in 1998)
3. Arizona (Banned in 2008 after failing total ban in 2006)
4. Arkansas (Banned in 2004)
5. California (Banned in 2000, full ban in 2008 with less than 55% of vote for, but Prop 8 thrown out by court, now under appeal)
6. Colorado (Banned in 2006)
7. Florida (Banned in 2008)
8. Georgia (Banned in 2004)
9. Idaho (Banned in 2006)
10. Kansas (Banned in 2005)
11. Kentucky (Banned in 2004)
12. Louisiana (Banned in 2004)
13. Maine (Banned in 2009, but overturned same year. Voters will vote this year on new citizen initiative to allow gay marriage or not)
14. Maryland (ban on ballot this year, 2012)
15. Michigan (Banned in 2004)
16. Minnesota (ban on ballot this year, 2012)
17. Mississippi (Banned in 2004)
18. Missouri (Banned in 2004)
19. Montana (Banned in 2004)
20. Nebraska (Banned in 2000)
21. Nevada (banned in 2000, full ban in 2002)
22. North Carolina (VOTED TO BAN GAY MARRIAGE AND CIVIL UNIONS, MAY 8 2012)
23. North Dakota (Banned in 2004)
24. Ohio (Banned in 2004)
25. Oklahoma (Banned in 2004)
26. Oregon (Banned in 2004)
27. South Carolina (Banned in 2006)
28. South Dakota (Banned in 2006 with less than 55% of vote for)
29. Tennessee (Banned in 2006)
30. Texas (Banned in 2005)
31. Utah (Banned in 2004)
32. Virginia (Banned in 2006)
33. Washington State (ban on ballot this year 2012)
34. Wisconsin (Banned on 2006)
6 STATES SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE
1. Connecticut
2. Iowa
3. Massachusetts
4. New Hampshire
5. New York
6. Vermont
AND
7. Washington DC
3 STATES WILL VOTE ON GAY MARRIAGE BAN THIS YEAR 2012
1. Maryland
2. Minnesota
3. North Carolina (VOTED TO BAN GAY MARRIAGE ON MAY 8TH, 2012)
4. Washington State
11 STATES RECOGNIZE CIVIL UNIONS OR DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIPS WITH SIMILAR MARRIAGE BENEFITS
1. California
2. Delaware
3. Hawaii
4. Illinois
5. Main
6. Nevada
7. New Jersey
8. Oregon
9. Rhode Island
10. Washington State
11. Wisconsin
The first of the states to vote on banning or allowing gay marriage this year is North Carolina. That vote was held yesterday (May 8, 2012), and as I reported, North Carolina Amendment 1 Passed Banning Gay Marriage Via State Constitutional Amendment. Will the other states follow suit in banning gay marriage this year? Or will they vote to allow it? We’ll have to wait and see.
So far, starting in 1998, 33 times voters in a state have been given the option to ban gay marriage or allow it. In all but one occassion, they voted to ban gay marriage and NOT to allow gay marriage. The only time the voters turned the gay marriage ban down, was in Arizona in 2006 (my home state). Two years later an amendment to the constitution to ban gay marriage was written and passed, but it recognizes Civil Unions. So gay marriage is illegal in Arizona, but Civil Unions are recognized. Similar bills exist in other states, you’ll have to look that info up yourself to find out exactly how the laws read. What is listed above means that gay marriage is effectively legal, or illegal, in the states that allow it or reject it. You can see what states recognize Civil Unions or Domestic Partnerships with some of the same benefits as a legal married couple (one man and one women) in the fourth list.
Thanks to Pewstates Stateline for the US Map image.
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