Gay marriage america legal
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.
What the Same Sex Marriage Bill Does and Doesn't Do
The U.S. Senate passed landmark legislation this week enshrining protections for matching sex and interracial marriages in federal law in a bipartisan vote that marked a dramatic turnaround on a once highly divisive issue.
The Senate action marks a major hurdle for the legislation, which President Biden has said he will signal into law pending a vote in the Home of Representatives.
Leonore F. Carpenter, a Rutgers Law 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 Behave do to protect gay marriage?
The Act does a few important things.
First, it repeals the federal Defense of Marriage Act. That law was passed in 1996, and it prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages that had been validly entered into under a state’s law. It also gave the green light to states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
Next, it prohibits states from refusing to recognize same-sex marriages that are validly entered into in a unlike state. It’s also impo
Marriage & Association Recognition Laws
States with the independence to marry accomplish not ban homosexual couples from entering into legal marriages. Some states also offer comprehensive affair recognition, such as domestic partnerships or civil unions, to same- and different-sex couples. However, most states still contain constitutional amendments, statutes, or both banning marriage for lgbtq+ couples, even after the 2015 Supreme Court case Obergefell extended marriage equality nationwide. For more on the current status of articulate marriage laws, notice MAP's 2022 report: Underneath Obergefell: A National Patchwork of Marriage Laws.
Marriage equality for same-sex couples(50 states , 5 territories + D.C.)
Comprehensive civil union or local partnership law (9 states + D.C.)
State has targeted religious exemption law (see note)
Citations & More Information
Movement Advancement Project. "Equality Maps: Marriage & Relationship Recognition Laws."https://www.lgbtmap.org/equality-maps/marriage_relationship_laws. Accessed 08/01/2025.
NOTE: Kansas permits faith-based organ
The Journey to Marriage Equality in the Together 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 battle 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 secure every person, regardless of whom they love, is recognized equally under the law.
A Growing Call for Equality
Efforts to legalize lgbtq+ marriage began to pop up across the territory 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 equivalent 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 guy 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 hold laws concerning marriage. The first major legal case involving gay marriage occurred in Hawaii in 1993. At that time the Hawaii Supreme Court governed that the articulate could not prohibit same-sex marriages without providing a "compelling reason." Shortly after, courts in Alaska reached the alike 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 homosexual 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 acknowledge the existence of a marriage. Second, DOMA provides a shield allowing a state to oppose to recognize a gay marriage from another state. Traditionally, if one is married in articulate X, then mention Y w
VICE, CRIME, AND AMERICAN LAW
Marriage laws are not federal. Each state has always been free to determine its hold laws concerning marriage. The first major legal case involving gay marriage occurred in Hawaii in 1993. At that time the Hawaii Supreme Court governed that the articulate could not prohibit same-sex marriages without providing a "compelling reason." Shortly after, courts in Alaska reached the alike 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 homosexual 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 acknowledge the existence of a marriage. Second, DOMA provides a shield allowing a state to oppose to recognize a gay marriage from another state. Traditionally, if one is married in articulate X, then mention Y w