Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States

Legal status of same-sex unions
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In response to court action in a number of states, the United States federal government and a number of state legislatures passed or attempted to pass legislation either prohibiting or allowing same-sex marriage or other types of same-sex unions.

On June 26, 2015, all such legislation was made irrelevant when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges that a fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by the Fourteenth Amendment, and that states must allow same-sex marriage.

Federal level

In 1996, the United States Congress passed and President Bill Clinton signed Public Law 104-199, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Section 3 of DOMA defines "marriage" and "spouse" for purposes of both federal law and any ruling, regulation, or interpretation by an administrative bureau or agency of the United States government. The impact of Section 2 of DOMA, which relieves jurisdictions within the United States of any obligation to recognize same-sex relationships legally established in any other jurisdiction, is less clear.

On March 16, 2011, companion bills were introduced by House and Senate Democrats to repeal DOMA. The bills were named the Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA).

In United States v. Windsor, the Supreme Court was asked to determine the constitutionality of Section 3 of DOMA, which defines marriage for federal purposes as the union of a man and a woman. On June 26, 2013, the Supreme Court ruled by a 5-4 vote that the Section 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional.

The State Marriage Defense Act, introduced in the House of Representatives on January 9, 2014, would require the federal government to recognize the validity of a marriage based on a person's legal residence (place of domicile), rather than on the validity of the marriage when and where it was solemnized (place of celebration). The Obama administration has generally used the latter standard. Its sponsors described it as a way to clarify the federal government's response to Windsor and restore the ability of the a state to control the definition of marriage within its borders.

In Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court was asked to determine the constitutionality of state bans on same-sex marriage licenses as well as state bans on recognition of same-sex marriages from other states. On June 26, 2015, the court ruled by a 5-4 vote that the Fourteenth Amendment obliges states to license same-sex marriages and to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.

State level

See also: Same-sex marriage law in the United States by state

Efforts to enable same-sex unions

Votes by state legislatures to recognize various types of same-sex unions, sorted by date:

State	Date	Type of same-sex union	Upper House		Lower house		Governor	Final outcome
			Yes	No	Yes	No
District of Columbia	June 1992	Domestic partnership	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
California	September 1994	Domestic partnership	21	17	41	26	Vetoed	No
Hawaii	March 1996	Domestic partnership	14	11	Failed		—	No
Hawaii	June 1997	Reciprocal beneficiary relationship	24	7	43	27	Signed	Yes
California	September 1998	Domestic partnership	21	17	41	36	Vetoed	No
California	October 1999	Domestic partnership	23	13	41	38	Vetoed	No
California	October 1999	Domestic partnership	22	14	41	36	Signed	Yes
Vermont	April 2000	Civil union	19	11	79	68	Signed	Yes
California	August 2001	Domestic partnership (expansion)	22	12	41	27	Signed	Yes
California	October 2001	Domestic partnership (expansion)	23	11	41	32	Signed	Yes
California	September 2002	Domestic partnership (expansion)	26	11	41	31	Signed	Yes
California	September 2002	Domestic partnership (expansion)	23	13	43	27	Signed	Yes
California	September 2003	Domestic partnership (expansion)	23	14	41	33	Signed	Yes
New Jersey	January 2004	Domestic partnership	23	9	41	28	Signed	Yes
Maine	April 2004	Domestic partnership	18	14	84	58	Signed	Yes
California	September 2004	Domestic partnership (expansion)	23	12	46	29	Signed	Yes
Connecticut	April 2005	Civil union	27	9	85	63	Signed	Yes
Maryland	May 2005	Domestic partnership	31	16	83	50	Vetoed	No
California	June 2005	Marriage	—	—	Failed		—	No
California	September 2005	Marriage	21	15	41	35	Vetoed	No
California	September 2005	Domestic partnership (expansion)	23	15	47	28	Signed	Yes
California	September 2005	Domestic partnership (expansion)	21	14	47	32	Signed	Yes
California	September 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)	24	15	46	29	Signed	Yes
California	September 2006	Domestic partnership (expansion)	23	15	47	31	Signed	Yes
New Jersey	December 2006	Civil union	23	12	56	19	Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	April 2007	Civil union	—	—	Failed		—	No
Washington	April 2007	Domestic partnership	28	19	63	35	Signed	Yes
Oregon	May 2007	Domestic partnership	21	9	34	26	Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	May 2007	Civil union	14	10	243	129	Signed	Yes
New York	June 2007	Marriage	—	—	85	61	—	No
California	September 2007	Marriage	22	15	42	34	Vetoed	No
California	October 2007	Domestic partnership (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	January 2008	Contractual cohabitation	Failed		—	—	—	No
New Mexico	February 2008	Domestic partnership	—	—	33	31	—	No
Washington	March 2008	Domestic partnership (expansion)	29	20	62	32	Signed	Yes
Maryland	May 2008	Domestic partnership	30	17	88	46	Signed	Yes
District of Columbia	May 2008	Domestic partnership (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Mexico	February 2009	Domestic partnership	17	25	—	—	—	No
Vermont	April 2009	Marriage	23	5	100	49	Vetoed 1	Yes
Colorado	April 2009	Designated beneficiary agreement	23	10	41	24	Signed	Yes
Connecticut	April 2009	Marriage (codification)	28	7	100	44	Signed	Yes
Maine	May 2009	Marriage	21	14	89	58	Signed	No2
District of Columbia	May 2009	Marriage (recognition only)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Washington	May 2009	Domestic partnership (expansion)	30	18	62	35	Signed	Yes3
Nevada	May 2009	Domestic partnership	14	7	28	14	Vetoed1	Yes
New Hampshire	June 2009	Marriage	14	10	198	176	Signed	Yes
Oregon	June 2009	Domestic partnership (expansion)	27	0	41	8	Signed	Yes
Wisconsin	June 2009	Domestic partnership	17	16	50	48	Signed	Yes
California	October 2009	Out-of-state pre-proposition 8 marriage recognition	24	14	44	27	Signed	Yes
New York	December 2009	Marriage	24	38	89	52	—	No
District of Columbia	December 2009	Marriage	N/A		11	2	Signed	Yes
Rhode Island	January 2010	Domestic partnership (only 1 entitlement)	31	3	67	3	Vetoed1	Yes
New Jersey	January 2010	Marriage	14	20	—	—	—	No
Minnesota	May 2010	Domestic partnership (only 1 entitlement)	41	24	78	55	Vetoed	No
Hawaii	July 2010	Civil union	18	7	31	20	Vetoed	No
New York	July 2010	Domestic partnership (only 1 entitlement)	50	11	127	26	Signed	Yes
California	September 2010	Domestic partnership (expansion)	23	12	53	24	Signed	Yes
Illinois	January 2011	Civil union	32	24	61	52	Signed	Yes
Hawaii	February 2011	Civil union	18	5	31	19	Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	March 2011	Domestic union	—	—	Failed		—	No
Maryland	March 2011	Marriage	25	21	—	—	—	No
Colorado	March 2011	Civil union	23	12	—	—	—	No
Washington	April 2011	Recognition of out-of-state union as domestic partnership	28	19	58	39	Signed	Yes
Delaware	May 2011	Civil union	13	6	26	15	Signed	Yes
New York	June 2011	Marriage	33	29	80	63	Signed	Yes
Rhode Island	July 2011	Civil union	21	16	62	11	Signed	Yes
California	September 2011	Domestic partnership (expansion)	22	13	52	25	Signed	Yes
California	October 2011	Domestic partnership (expansion)	25	15	Passed		Signed	Yes
California	October 2011	Domestic partnership (expansion)	24	13	Passed		Signed	Yes
Washington	February 2012	Marriage	28	21	55	43	Signed	Yes3
New Jersey	February 2012	Marriage	24	16	42	33	Vetoed	No
Maryland	March 2012	Marriage	25	22	72	67	Signed	Yes3
Colorado	May 2012	Civil union	23	12	—	—	—	No
Wyoming	January 2013	Domestic partnership	—	—	24	35	—	No
Colorado	March 2013	Civil union	21	14	39	26	Signed	Yes
Rhode Island	May 2013	Marriage	26	12	56	15	Signed	Yes
Delaware	May 2013	Marriage	12	9	23	18	Signed	Yes
Minnesota	May 2013	Marriage	37	30	75	59	Signed	Yes
Hawaii	November 2013	Marriage	19	4	30	19	Signed	Yes
Illinois	November 2013	Marriage	32	21	61	54	Signed	Yes
Wyoming	February 2014	Marriage	—	—	17	41	—	No
California	July 2014	Marriage (codification)	25	10	51	11	Signed	Yes
Virginia	February 2015	Marriage (codification)	20	18	—	—	—	No
Oregon	July 2015	Marriage (codification)	18	11	40	18	Signed	Yes
Guam	August 2015	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		N/A4	Yes
Iowa	2016	Marriage (codification)			Pending
Michigan	2016	Marriage (codification)			Pending
Puerto Rico	2016	Marriage (codification)			Pending
Virginia	2016	Marriage (codification)			Pending

Notes:

• ¹Veto overridden
• ²People's veto (Maine Question 1, 2009)
• ³People's veto failed (Washington Referendum 71, Washington Referendum 74, Maryland Question 6)
• ⁴The bill was allowed to lapse into law.

Efforts to prohibit same-sex unions

Votes by state legislatures to prohibit recognition of various types of same-sex unions, sorted by date:

State	Date	Type of same-sex union	Upper House		Lower house		Governor	Final outcome
			Yes	No	Yes	No
Maryland	May 1973	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Oklahoma	February 1975	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Arizona	April 1975	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Virginia	August 1975	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Utah	April 1977	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Florida	June 1977	Marriage	37	0	101	11	Signed	Yes
Illinois	June 1977	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
California	August 1977	Marriage	23	5	68	2	Signed	Yes
Wyoming	October 1977	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Wisconsin	July 1979	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	July 1987	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	March 1994	Recognition of out-of-state marriage	11	12	—	—	—	No
Guam	May 1994	Marriage	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Hawaii	June 1994	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Utah	March 1995	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
South Dakota	January 1996	Marriage	26	8	49	18	Signed	Yes
Idaho	February 1996	Marriage	24	6	66	4	Signed	Yes
Idaho	March 1996	Recognition of out-of-state marriage	28	4	59	6	Signed	Yes
Colorado	March 1996	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Vetoed	No
Kansas	April 1996	Marriage	39	1	87	38	Signed	Yes
Georgia	April 1996	Marriage	47	0	135	10	Signed	Yes
Arizona	May 1996	Marriage	21	9	50	5	Signed	Yes
Alaska	May 1996	Marriage and civil union	Passed		31	9	N/A1	Yes
Illinois	May 1996	Marriage	42	9	87	13	Signed	Yes
Tennessee	May 1996	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
South Carolina	May 1996	Marriage	Passed		82	0	Signed	Yes
Michigan	June 1996	Marriage	31	2	88	14	Signed	Yes
Michigan	June 1996	Recognition of out-of-state marriage	Passed		74	28	Signed	Yes
Delaware	June 1996	Marriage	17	3	Passed		Signed	Yes
North Carolina	June 1996	Marriage and recognition of out-of-state marriage	41	4	98	10	Signed	Yes
Missouri	July 1996	Marriage	29	2	131	10	Signed	Yes
California	August 1996	Marriage	20	21	Passed		—	No
Oklahoma	September 1996	Marriage	42	2	99	0	Signed	Yes
Pennsylvania	October 1996	Marriage	43	5	189	13	Signed	Yes
Mississippi	February 1997	Marriage	50	0	118	3	Signed	Yes
Arkansas	February 1997	Marriage	34	0	92	2	Signed	Yes
North Dakota	February 1997	Marriage	43	6	73	18	Signed	Yes
Texas	February 1997	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Washington	February 1997	Marriage	33	15	63	35	Vetoed	No
Virginia	March 1997	Recognition of out-of-state marriage	40	0	87	9	Signed	Yes
Maine	March 1997	Marriage	24	10	106	39	N/A1	Yes
Indiana	April 1997	Marriage	38	10	85	9	Signed	Yes
Montana	April 1997	Marriage and civil union	45	5	73	23	Signed	Yes
Florida	May 1997	Recognition of out-of-state marriage and civil union	33	5	97	19	N/A1	Yes
Minnesota	June 1997	Marriage	64	0	108	20	Signed	Yes
Colorado	June 1997	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Vetoed	No
Washington	February 1998	Marriage	34	11	65	28	Vetoed 2	Yes
Alabama	May 1998	Marriage	30	0	79	12	Signed	Yes
Hawaii	November 1998	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Puerto Rico	March 1999	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Louisiana	July 1999	Marriage and recognition of out-of-state marriage	32	0	95	0	Signed	Yes
West Virginia	March 2000	Marriage	Passed		96	3	Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	March 2000	Recognition of out-of-state marriage	—	—	128	232	—	No
Colorado	May 2000	Marriage	Passed		37	28	Signed	Yes
New Hampshire	March 2001	Recognition of out-of-state civil union	—	—	88	276	—	No
Missouri	July 2001	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
American Samoa	March 2003	Marriage	Failed		—	—	—	No
New Hampshire	March 2003	Recognition of out-of-state civil union	—	—	Failed		—	No
Texas	May 2003	Recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriage and civil union	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Wisconsin	November 2003	Marriage	22	10	68	29	Vetoed	No
Ohio	February 2004	Marriage, recognition of out-of-state marriage, and civil union	72	22	18	15	Signed	Yes
Utah	March 2004	Civil union	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Virginia	April 2004	Civil union	27	12	69	30	N/A1	Yes
New Hampshire	May 2004	Recognition of out-of-state marriage	16	7	215	137	Signed	Yes
Wyoming	February 2007	Recognition of out-of-state marriage	21	8	—	—	—	No
New Hampshire	March 2008	Recognition of out-of-state union	—	—	Failed		—	No
New Hampshire	March 2009	Civil union	—	—	136	205	—	No
New Hampshire	February 2010	Marriage	—	—	109	210	—	No
Wyoming	March 2011	Recognition of out-of-state marriage	14	16	31	28	—	No
New Hampshire	March 2012	Marriage	—	—	116	211	—	No
Wyoming	February 2014	Recognition of out-of-state marriage	—	—	29	31	—	No

Notes:

• ¹The bill was allowed to lapse into law.
• ²Veto overridden.

Attempts to establish same-sex unions via initiative or statewide referendum

State	Intended date	Same-sex union	Description	Outcome
Maine	November 2012	Marriage	Initiative to establish same-sex marriage.	Yes

Efforts to enable ban amendment

State	Date	Type of same-sex union	Upper House		Lower house		Final outcome
			Yes	No	Yes	No
Hawaii	1998	Marriage ban permitted	Passed		Passed		Placed on Ballot
	November 1998		Referendum (69.18%)				Yes
Alaska	1998	Same-sex marriage	14	6	28	12	Placed on Ballot
	November 1998		Referendum (68.1%)				Yes
Indiana	February 2004	Same-sex marriage	42	7	—	—	No
Missouri	2004	Same-sex marriage	Passed		Passed		Placed on Ballot
	August 2004		Referendum (70.6%)				Yes
Louisiana	May/June 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	31	6	64	29	No
					87	11	Placed on Ballot
	September 2004		Referendum (77.79%)				Yes
Mississippi	2004	Same-sex marriage	Passed		Passed		Placed on Ballot
	November 2004		Referendum (86.01%)				Yes
Georgia	February/March 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	40	14	117	50	No
					122	52	Placed on Ballot
	November 2004		Referendum (76.2%)				Yes
Utah	March 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	20	7	58	14	Placed on Ballot
	November 2004		Referendum (65.86%)				Yes
Kentucky	April 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	33	5	85	11	Placed on Ballot
	November 2004		Referendum (74.55%)				Yes
Oklahoma	April 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	26	19	92	4	Placed on Ballot
	November 2004		Referendum (75.58%)				Yes
Kansas	January/February 2005	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	28	11	86	37	Placed on Ballot
	April 2005		Referendum (69.94%)				Yes
Texas	May 2005	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	21	8	101	29	Placed on Ballot
	November 2005		Referendum (76.25%)				Yes
Alabama	March 2005	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	30	0	85	7	Placed on Ballot
	June 2006		Referendum (81.2%)				Yes
South Carolina	2005	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	Passed		Passed		Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (77.97%)				Yes
South Dakota	February 2005	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	20	14	55	14	Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (51.83%)				Yes
Wisconsin	March 2004	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	20	13	68	27	Advanced
	February 2006		19	14	62	31	Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (59.4%)				Yes
Tennessee	May 2004	Same-sex marriage	28	1	85	5	Advanced
	March 2005		29	3	88	7	Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (81.25%)				Yes
Idaho	February 2006	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	26	9	53	17	Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (63.4%)				Yes
Virginia	March 2006	All types of same-sex unions	28	11	85	12	Placed on Ballot
	November 2006		Referendum (57.06%)				Yes
Pennsylvania	June 2006	Same-sex marriage	38	12	136	61	Advanced
	2007/2008		—	—	—	—	No
Arizona	May/June 2008	Same-sex marriage	14	11	35	25	No
					16	4	Placed on Ballot
	November 2008		Referendum (56.2%)				Yes
Wyoming	February 2009	Same-sex marriage	—	—	25	35	No
West Virginia	March 2009	Same-sex marriage	—	—	30	67	No
Indiana	January 2010	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	38	10	—	—	No
New Hampshire	February 2010	Same-sex marriage	—	—	135	201	No
Wyoming	January 2011	Same-sex marriage	20	10	—	—	No
Iowa	February 2011	Same-sex marriage	—	—	62	37	No
North Carolina	September 2011	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	30	16	75	42	Placed on Ballot
	May 2012		Referendum (61.04%)				Yes
Minnesota	May 2011	Same-sex marriage	37	27	70	62	Placed on Ballot
	November 2012		Referendum (47.44%)				No
Indiana	March 2011	Same-sex marriage and civil unions	40	10	70	26	No, Bill was amended
Indiana	February 2014	Same-sex marriage	32	17	57	40	Advanced
	2015		—	—	—	—	No

Efforts to ban same-sex unions by constitutional amendment

See also: List of U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions by type and U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions

The following table shows all popular vote results regarding state constitutional amendments concerning same-sex marriage, and in some cases civil unions and domestic partnerships. The Hawaii amendment is different in that it granted the legislature authority to "reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples" (which the legislature had already done).

State	Initiative	Ban on	Date	Yes vote		No vote		Total votes	Voter turnout	Electorate	Final outcome
				Votes	Percentage	Votes	Percentage
Alabama	Amendment 774	Marriage and civil union	June 6, 2006	697,591	81.2%	161,694	18.8%	859,285	25.73%	3,338,467	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Alaska	Ballot Measure 2	Marriage	November 3, 1998	152,965	68.1%	71,631	31.9%	224,596	50.11%	453,332	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Arizona	Proposition 107	Marriage and civil union	November 7, 2006	721,789	48.2%	775,498	51.8%	1,496,987	38.15%	3,923,786	No
Arizona	Proposition 102	Marriage	November 4, 2008	1,258,355	56.2%	980,753	43.8%	2,239,078	55.33%	2,987,451	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Arkansas	Constitutional Amendment 3	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	753,770	74.95%	251,914	25.04%	1,005,684	51.07%	1,969,208	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
California	Proposition 8	Marriage	November 4, 2008	7,001,084	52.24%	6,401,482	47.76%	13,743,177	61.73%	22,261,504	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.1
Colorado	Amendment 43	Marriage	November 7, 2006	855,126	55.02%	699,030	44.98%	1,554,156	47.13%	3,297,308	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Florida	Amendment 2	Marriage and civil union	November 4, 2008	4,890,883	61.92%	3,008,026	38.08%	8,456,329	66.65%	12,687,407	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Georgia	Constitutional Amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	2,454,930	76.2%	768,716	23.8%	3,223,646	54.84%	5,878,186	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Hawaii	Constitutional Amendment 2	Marriage ban permitted	November 3, 1998	285,384	69.18%	117,827	28.56%	403,211			Yes 2
Idaho	Amendment 2	Marriage and civil union	November 7, 2006	282,386	63.4%	163,384	36.6%	445,770	49.04%	908,925	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Kansas	Proposed amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	April 5, 2005	417,675	69.94%	179,432	30.06%	597,107			Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Kentucky	Constitutional Amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	1,222,125	74.55%	417,097	25.45%	1,639,222	53.6%	3,057,741	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Louisiana	Constitutional Amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	September 18, 2004	619,908	77.79%	177,067	22.21%	796,975	25.04%	3,182,762	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Michigan	State Proposal - 04-2	All types of same-sex unions	November 2, 2004	2,698,077	58.63%	1,904,319	41.37%	4,602,396	63.36%	7,263,024	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Minnesota	Amendment 1	Marriage	November 6, 2012	1,399,916	47.44%	1,550,864	52.56%	2,950,780	76.11%	3,876,752	No
Mississippi	Amendment 1	Marriage	November 2, 2004	957,104	86.01%	155,648	13.99%	1,112,752	53.78%	2,068,766	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Missouri	Constitutional Amendment 2	Marriage	August 3, 2004	1,055,771	70.6%	439,529	29.4%	1,495,300	35.76%	4,180,960	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Montana	Initiative 96	Marriage	November 2, 2004	295,070	66.55%	148,263	33.45%	443,333	63.41%	699,114	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Nebraska	Initiative Measure 416	Marriage and civil union	November 7, 2000	450,07	70.36%	189,555	29.64%	639,628	52.24%	1,224,178	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Nevada	Question 2	Marriage	November 7, 2000	412,688	69.62%	180,077	30.38%	592,765	44.03%	1,346,116	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Nevada	Question 2	Marriage	November 7, 2002	337,197	67.20%	164,573	32.80%	501,770	42.61%	1,391,100	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
North Carolina	Amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	May 8, 2012	1,317,178	61.04%	840,802	38.96%	2,157,980	34.66%	6,296,759	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
North Dakota	Constitutional Measure 1	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	223,572	73.23%	81,716	26.77%	305,288	63.24%	482,722	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Ohio	State Issue 1	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	3,329,335	61.71%	2,065,462	38.29%	5,394,797	64.01%	8,427,696	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Oklahoma	State Question 711	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	1,075,216	75.58%	347,303	24.42%	1,422,519	56.65%	2,510,823	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Oregon	Measure 36	Marriage	November 2, 2004	1,028,546	56.63%	787,556	43.37%	1,816,102	71.19%	2,550,887	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
South Carolina	Amendment 1	Marriage and civil union	November 7, 2006	829,360	77.97%	234,316	22.03%	1,063,676	33.74%	3,152,046	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
South Dakota	Amendment C	Marriage and civil union	November 7, 2006	172,305	51.83%	160,152	48.17%	332,457	57.26%	580,592	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Tennessee	Amendment 1	Marriage	November 7, 2006	1,419,434	81.3%	327,536	18.7%	1,746,970	39.4%	4,433,921	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Texas	Proposition 2	Marriage and civil union	November 8, 2005	1,723,782	76.25%	536,913	23.74%	2,260,695	17.97%	12,577,545	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Utah	Constitutional Amendment 3	Marriage and civil union	November 2, 2004	593,297	65.86%	307,488	34.14%	900,785	57.21%	1,574,463	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.3
Virginia	Marshall-Newman Amendment	All types of same-sex unions	November 7, 2006	1,328,537	57.06%	999,687	42.94%	2,328,224	43.23%	5,385,522	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.
Wisconsin	Referendum 1	Marriage and civil union	November 7, 2006	1,264,310	59.4%	862,924	40.6%	2,127,234	52.33%	4,064,432	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.

Notes:

• ¹ On June 26, 2013, the United States Supreme Court ruled that supporters of the measure did not have standing in federal court to defend the August 2010 ruling by Northern District of California's Chief Judge Vaughn Walker that the amendment was unconstitutional under both the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, effectively killing the ballot initiative.
• ² Does not explicitly define marriage, but allows the legislature to define marriage.
• ³ On December 20, 2013, Judge Robert J. Shelby of Federal District Court for the District of Utah, issued a 53-page ruling that said Utah’s law, which was passed by voters in 2004, violated the US Constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment.

Recent, pending, or proposed attempts to constitutionally block same-sex unions

State	2000s	2010s	2014	Details
Delaware	2009			A proposed constitutional amendment, Senate Bill 27, to ban same-sex marriage failed.	Failed
Indiana	2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009	2010 2011	2014	On February 15, 2011, the Indiana House approved a ban on civil unions and marriage (70-26). The bill passed the Indiana Senate by a 40-10 vote. According to state law, the bill must now be approved by the next, separately elected legislature before voters will see the measure on the 2014 ballot. On January 27, 2014, the Indiana House voted 52-43 to remove the ban on civil unions from the proposed measure. On January 28, 2014, the Indiana House voted 57-40 in favor of the amended measure. On February 17, 2014, the Indiana Senate voted 32-17 approving the House-amended version of the ban on gay marriage. The measure will now need to be approved by the next, separately elected legislature before voters are allowed to decide its fate in 2016.	Failed
Iowa	2004 2005	2010 2011		After the Iowa Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal in 2009, a backlash quickly developed that resulted in three of the justices losing their seats in the 2010 election. Additionally, Republicans took control of the House and fell one seat short of taking over the Senate. For a proposed constitutional amendment to come before Iowa voters, it has to be approved in exactly the same form by two consecutive general assemblies.	Failed
Minnesota	2004 2005 2006 2007 2009	2011		A bill was sponsored in 2009 but failed to be brought up for a vote. An amendment was introduced again in 2011. The House and Senate bills passed. Both are referred to other area. The bill would have been approved by majority by both the Senate and house by May 23, 2011. On May 11, 2011, the Senate passed the bill 38-27. On May 22, 2011, an amendment was passed by the house by a vote of 70-62, and was placed on the ballot in the November 2012 election.	Failed
New Hampshire	2006 2007	2010		On February 17, 2010, a proposed constitutional amendment failed in the house by a 201-135 margin. Constitutional amendments in New Hampshire require two-thirds approval from voters.	Failed
New Jersey	2006 2007 2008	2010		Bills to place an amendment on the ballot have all failed in the House or Senate Judiciary Committee.	Failed
New Mexico	2007 2008 2009	2010 2011 2013	2014	A joint resolution was prefiled in the New Mexico legislature for the 2014 session. The resolution would define marriage as one man and one woman for the state of New Mexico.	Failed
Pennsylvania	2006 2008 2009	2010 2011 2013		A joint resolution was introduced in the house of representatives with record low sponsorship on May 8, 2013. The bill would ban same-sex marriages and civil unions. Pennsylvania would become the first northeastern state with a marriage amendment. According to state law, the amendment must receive a majority vote from both chambers of the legislature in two consecutive sessions before voters are allowed to decide its fate. The soonest voters could see the measure is in 2015.	Failed
West Virginia	2009	2010 2011		West Virginia senators proposed a constitutional amendment for the 2010 ballot that would have defined marriage as "a union between and man and a woman". The amendment was defeated. Another proposition was introduced in January 2011 but failed to advance.	Failed
Wyoming	2009	2011		In 2009, the house of representatives considered an amendment to the state constitution, House Joint Resolution 17 (also known as the "Defense of Marriage" resolution), defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman. The measure was defeated in the house on February 6, with 35 votes against and 25 in favor. On January 27, 2011, the Senate approved an amendment, but it died in the house.	Failed

Efforts to ban same-sex unions by statute

The following consists of votes by statutory initiatives that ban same-sex marriage and/or civil unions and domestic partnerships:

State	Date	Yes vote	No vote	Description	Final outcome
California	March 2000	61% (4,618,673)	39% (2,909,370)	Proposition 22. Amend the Family Code to say: Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.1	Yes but ruled unconstitutional.2

Notes:

• ¹ There is a debate as to whether the adoption of Prop 22 only prohibited California from recognizing same-sex marriages performed in other states.

• ² In March 2005, Judge Richard Kramer ruled there appeared to be no rational state compelling interest in limiting marriage to heterosexual couples. His ruling was appealed to the California Court of Appeal for the 1st District, which upheld Proposition 22 on October 5, 2006. The Supreme Court of California ruled on May 15, 2008, that Proposition 22 is unconstitutional and it was struck down by the state's highest court.

Lawsuits seeking to overturn statutory bans

See also: Same-sex marriage in the United States § In litigation

The following lists cases seeking to overturn marriage bans:

State	Case	Date	Vote for	Vote against	Description	Restrictions unconstitutional?	Final outcome
Minnesota	Richard John Baker v. Gerald R. Nelson	October 15, 1971	0	7	Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that Minnesota's marriage statute applied only to opposite-sex couples. The case was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, but dismissed on October 10, 1972.	No	No
Kentucky	Jones v. Callahan	November 9, 1973	0	7	Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that Kentucky's marriage statute applied only to opposite-sex couples.	No	No
Washington	Singer v. Hara	October 1974	Failed		Washington Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of same-sex couple who were denied a marriage license by their county clerk. Washington Court of Appeals's decision stating that state marriage statutes only applied to opposite-sex couples upheld.	No	No
District of Columbia	Dean v. District of Columbia'	January 1995	0	9	District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that District's marriage statute applied only to opposite-sex couples.	No	No
Hawaii	Baehr v. Miike	December 9, 1999	0	5	Hawaii Supreme Court ruled on May 5, 1993, in a 3 in favor to 1 against decision, that state must provide a compelling interest to restricting marriage to opposite-sex couples. Remanded case to lower courts for trial on the subject. On December 3, 1996, Judge Chang ruled that the state had not established any compelling interest in denying same-sex couples the ability to marry and that, even if it had, it failed to prove that the Hawaii statute was narrowly tailored to avoid unnecessary abridgement of constitutional rights. He enjoined the state from refusing to issue marriage licenses to otherwise-qualified same-sex couples. The following day Chang stayed his ruling, acknowledging the "legally untenable" position couples would be in should the Supreme Court reverse him on appeal. Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs' arguments were moot in light of 1998 state constitutional amendment.	No	No
Vermont	Baker v. Vermont	December 20, 1999	5	0	Vermont Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriage or something similar must be implemented in 100 days.	Yes	Legalized civil unions in Vermont by Vermont General Assembly
Alaska	Brause v. Alaska Dept of Health & Social Services	April 17, 2001	0	5	Alaska Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs' arguments were moot in light of 1998 state constitutional amendment.	No	No
Massachusetts	Goodridge v. Department of Public Health	November 18, 2003	4	3	Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules that same-sex marriages must be legal in 180 days.	Yes	Legalized same-sex marriage in Massachusetts on May 17, 2004
Arizona	Harold Donald Standhardt and Tod Alan Keltner v. State of Arizona	May 25, 2004	Failed		Arizona Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of a unanimous Arizona Appellate Court ruling upholding statutory marriage ban.	No	No
Louisiana	Forum for Equality v McKeithen	January 19, 2005	0	7	District Judge William Morvant of Baton Rouge struck down the constitutional amendment on the grounds that it violated a provision of the state constitution requiring that an amendment cover only one subject. The Louisiana Supreme Court however upheld the constitutional amendment.	No	No
Oregon	Mary Li and Rebecca Kennedy et al. v. State of Oregon et al.	April 2005	0	7	Oregon Supreme Court ruled that plaintiffs' arguments were moot in light of 2004 state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.	No	No
New York	Hernandez v. Robles	July 6, 2006	2	4	New York Court of Appeals upheld New York's marriage statute did not allow same-sex marriage, and that there is no constitutional right to same-sex marriage.	No	No
Georgia	Perdue v. O'Kelley	July 7, 2006	0	7	On May 16, 2006, Constance C. Russell of Fulton County Superior Court struck down the constitutional amendment on the grounds that it violated a provision of the state constitution requiring that an amendment cover only one subject. The Georgia Supreme Court however upheld the constitutional amendment.	No	No
Washington	Andersen v. King County	July 26, 2006	4	5	Washington Supreme Court upholds Washington's statute banning same-sex marriage.	No	No
New Jersey	Lewis v. Harris	October 25, 2006	7	0	New Jersey Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriage or something similar must be implemented in 100 days.	Yes	Legalized civil unions in New Jersey by New Jersey General Assembly
Maryland	Conaway v. Deane & Polyak	September 2007	3	4	Maryland Court of Appeals upholds Maryland's statute banning same-sex marriage.	No	No
Michigan	Pride at Work v. Granholm	May 7, 2008	5	2	Michigan Supreme Court ruled that Michigan's constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions also applies to domestic partner benefits.	No	Constitution of Michigan prohibits domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples
California	In re Marriage Cases	May 15, 2008	4	3	California Supreme Court overturns Proposition 22 and rules that in 30 days, same-sex marriages must be legal.	Yes	Same-sex marriage licenses issued in California from June 17, 2008 to November 5, 2008  On November 5, 2008, Proposition 8 goes into effect banning same-sex marriage in the Constitution of California
Connecticut	Kerrigan v. Commissioner of Public Health	October 10, 2008	4	3	Connecticut Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriages must be legal in 30 days.	Yes	Legalized same-sex marriage in Connecticut on November 12, 2008
Iowa	Varnum v. Brien	April 2009	7	0	Iowa Supreme Court rules that same-sex marriages must be legal in 27 days.	Yes	Legalized same-sex marriage in Iowa on April 27, 2009
California	Strauss v. Horton	May 26, 2009	1	6	California Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8; however, same-sex marriages performed before November 5, 2008, are also upheld.	No	California Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8; however, same-sex marriages performed before November 5, 2008, are also upheld.
New York	Lewis v. New York State Department of Civil Service	November 2009	3	2	The case challenging the recognition of same-sex marriages in the state of New York was heard by New York Court of Appeals and upheld the rights that came with the recognition of same-sex marriages.	Recognition upheld	Continuing the recognition of same-sex marriages abroad.
Wisconsin	McConkey v. Van Hollen	June 30, 2010	0	7	Wisconsin Supreme Court upholds constitutional amendment.	No	No
Wyoming	Christiansen v. Christiansen	June 2011	Allowed		Wyoming Supreme Court allows two Wyoming residents to dissolve a legal relationship created under the laws of Canada.	Yes	Couple can divorce in Wyoming
Maryland	McConkey v. Van Hollen	May 18, 2012	7	0	Maryland Court of Appeals upholds Maryland's recognition of out-of-state same-sex marriages.	Recognition upheld	Continuing the recognition of same-sex marriages abroad.
Wisconsin	Appling v. Doyle	July 31, 2014	7	0	On November 4, 2009, Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to hear the challenge to Wisconsin's domestic partnership. On June 20, 2011, the Circuit court Judge Dan Moeser ruled that the domestic partnership registry does not violate the state constitution, finding that the state "does not recognize domestic partnership in a way that even remotely resembles how the state recognizes marriage". On December 21, 2012, District 4 Court of Appeals affirms Judge Moeser's decision in a unanimous ruling. On July 31, 2014, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled unanimously that the domestic partnership law does not violate the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.	Recognition upheld	Wisconsin's domestic partnership law is upheld.
Montana	Donaldson and Guggenheim v. State of Montana	December 2012	3	4	Montana Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's dismissal of this case because the plaintiffs had not identified specific state statutes in their complaint. They did not seek the right to marry, but equal treatment for same-sex couples with respect to inheritance rights, health care decisions, and parenting. The Court invited the plaintiffs to file an amended complaint citing specific statutes, which the plaintiffs, did on April 16, 2013.	No	Pending (Lewis and Clark County District Court)
New Mexico	Griego v. Oliver	December 19, 2013	5	0	On 21 March 2013 ACLU filed a lawsuit in the Albuquerque District court on behalf of two New Mexico couples who are seeking the right to marry. On 19 December 2013 New Mexico's Supreme Court declared that denying marriage to same-sex couples is unconstitutional in the state.	Yes	Legalized same-sex marriage in New Mexico on December 19, 2013
Texas	In Re Marriage of J.B. and H.B.	June 19, 2015	n/a	n/a	County judge ruled statutory and constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in violation of the US constitution; appealed to 5th Texas Court of Appeals. The court says Texas's same-sex marriage ban is constitutional. The Fifth Circuit denied en banc review. J.B. sought review from the Texas Supreme Court in February 2011 and that court requested briefs in October. On July 3, 2013, the Texas Supreme Court sua sponte ordered supplemental merits briefing in light of United States v. Windsor.	Case dismissed on June 19, 2015 because a Petitioner died.
Texas	Texas v. Naylor	June 19, 2015	5	3	On January 7, 2011, the Third Court of Appeals in Austin in the case of State of Texas v. Angelique S. Naylor and Sabina Daly rejected, on procedural grounds, the Texas attorney general's appeal of a divorce granted by a lower court to a same-sex couple married in Massachusetts. The appeal was still pending in December 2012.	Third Court of Appeals upheld in a 5-3 decision on June 19, 2015. The Court ruled that the Texas government had no standing to intervene in the divorce.

See also

• Same-sex marriage in the United States
• Same-sex marriage status in the United States by state
• Same-sex marriage law in the United States by state
• Same-sex union legislation