Same-Sex Marriage by State 2025

Banned by constitution and statute

Not banned

Banned by statute

Banned by constitution

Banned by statute but protected by court order

State	Same-Sex Marriage Ban Status↓	Date Same-Sex Marriage Legalized	Domestic Partnership Law	Total # of Married Couples 2023	# of Same Sex Marriages 2023	Same Sex Marriages as % of Total Marriages 2023	# of Male/Male Marriages	# of Female/Female Marriages	# of Same Sex Cohabiting Households 2023	# of Male/Male Cohabiting Households 2023	# of Female/Female Cohabiting Households 2023
California	Not banned	June 28, 2013	Has comprehensive civil union or domenstic partnership law.	6,572,440	109,128	1.66%	60,664	48,464	62,155	34,607	27,548
Connecticut	Not banned	November 12, 2008		668,432	6,886	1.03%	2,834	4,052	5,292	3,624	1,668
Delaware	Not banned	July 1, 2013		196,308	4,588	2.34%	1,763	2,825	1,497	1,102	395
District of Columbia	Not banned	March 3, 2010	Has comprehensive civil union or domenstic partnership law.	85,373	5,085	5.96%	4,104	981	3,747	2,603	1,144
Hawaii	Not banned	December 2, 2013	Has comprehensive civil union or domenstic partnership law.	248,739	3,661	1.47%	1,920	1,741	2,257	1,037	1,220
Illinois	Not banned	June 1, 2014	Has comprehensive civil union or domenstic partnership law.	2,274,511	27,095	1.19%	13,587	13,508	23,375	13,191	10,184
Maine	Not banned	December 29, 2012	Has comprehensive civil union or domenstic partnership law.	294,871	5,556	1.88%	2,083	3,473	3,162	2,308	854
Maryland	Not banned	January 1, 2013	Has comprehensive civil union or domenstic partnership law.	1,092,004	14,050	1.29%	5,076	8,974	7,884	3,846	4,038
Massachusetts	Not banned	May 17, 2014		1,269,734	23,276	1.83%	10,451	12,825	15,168	6,300	8,868
Minnesota	Not banned	August 1, 2013		1,140,240	15,904	1.39%	6,440	9,464	12,100	5,432	6,668
Nevada	Not banned	October 9, 2014	Has comprehensive civil union or domenstic partnership law.	528,265	10,466	1.98%	4,775	5,691	5,139	2,886	2,253
New Hampshire	Not banned	January 1, 2010		292,316	3,797	1.3%	746	3,051	2,482	1,286	1,196
New Jersey	Not banned	October 21, 2013	Has comprehensive civil union or domenstic partnership law.	1,755,631	21,989	1.25%	10,082	11,907	11,105	4,720	6,385
New Mexico	Not banned	December 19, 2013		350,569	5,080	1.45%	2,596	2,484	5,179	2,375	2,804
New York	Not banned	July 24, 2011		3,290,690	55,693	1.69%	32,159	23,534	34,827	18,901	15,926
Rhode Island	Not banned	August 1, 2013		193,263	3,499	1.81%	1,429	2,070	2,826	1,606	1,220
Vermont	Not banned	September 1, 2009		132,173	2,785	2.11%	1,202	1,583	1,834	426	1,408
Washington	Not banned	December 9, 2012		1,511,217	26,776	1.77%	10,755	16,021	16,115	7,190	8,925
Iowa	Banned by statute but protected by court order	April 24, 2009		644,904	4,123	0.64%	1,504	2,619	3,489	1,266	2,223
Colorado	Banned by statute	October 7, 2014	Has comprehensive civil union or domenstic partnership law.	1,160,768	17,705	1.53%	7,925	9,780	12,693	5,473	7,220
Indiana	Banned by statute	October 6, 2014		1,287,098	14,364	1.12%	5,410	8,954	8,837	3,959	4,878
Pennsylvania	Banned by statute	May 20, 2014		2,446,845	24,438	1%	10,030	14,408	21,147	8,243	12,904
West Virginia	Banned by statute	October 9, 2014		336,677	3,473	1.03%	1,121	2,352	2,059	806	1,253
Wyoming	Banned by statute	October 21, 2014		121,639	905	0.74%	391	514	474	449	25
Alabama	Banned by constitution and statute	February 9, 2015		949,532	9,157	0.96%	3,090	6,067	6,727	2,560	4,167
Alaska	Banned by constitution and statute	October 17, 2014		128,090	1,677	1.31%	504	1,173	783	461	322
Arizona	Banned by constitution and statute	October 17, 2014		1,359,887	19,638	1.44%	9,000	10,638	12,414	5,301	7,113
Arkansas	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015		575,802	4,943	0.86%	2,150	2,793	2,766	1,213	1,553
Florida	Banned by constitution and statute	January 6, 2015		4,213,940	60,451	1.43%	31,559	28,892	39,812	22,298	17,514
Georgia	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015		1,925,665	25,932	1.35%	10,357	15,575	17,157	9,655	7,502
Idaho	Banned by constitution and statute	October 13, 2014		408,624	2,938	0.72%	965	1,973	2,199	1,192	1,007
Kansas	Banned by constitution and statute	November 12, 2014	Allows religious exemptions: Faith-based organizations may deny services to married same-sex couples.	581,346	6,227	1.07%	2,310	3,917	5,007	1,633	3,374
Kentucky	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015		867,100	8,156	0.94%	3,830	4,326	7,009	2,700	4,309
Louisiana	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015		767,299	7,191	0.94%	3,303	3,888	5,406	2,396	3,010
Michigan	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015		1,896,709	18,598	0.98%	7,944	10,654	14,933	7,420	7,513
Mississippi	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015	Allows religious exemptions: A 2016 law (H.B. 1523) permited state officials to decline to marry couples of whose marriage they disapprove.It was overturned by a federal court and is stayed from enforcement as of 2023.	507,946	3,358	0.66%	851	2,507	2,503	1,065	1,438
Missouri	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015		1,190,753	13,235	1.11%	4,984	8,251	11,413	5,638	5,775
Montana	Banned by constitution and statute	November 19, 2014		228,589	3,059	1.34%	775	2,284	1,903	816	1,087
North Carolina	Banned by constitution and statute	October 10, 2014	Allows religious exemptions: State officials to decline to marry couples of whose marriage they disapprove.	2,080,906	20,433	0.98%	8,626	11,807	19,139	8,994	10,145
North Dakota	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015		155,411	405	0.26%	271	134	930	422	508
Ohio	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015		2,172,396	21,437	0.99%	9,265	12,172	17,101	7,158	9,943
Oklahoma	Banned by constitution and statute	October 6, 2014		735,765	6,039	0.82%	1,950	4,089	6,354	3,033	3,321
South Carolina	Banned by constitution and statute	November 20, 2014		1,036,532	9,849	0.95%	2,985	6,864	7,272	2,673	4,599
South Dakota	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015		182,163	1,075	0.59%	335	740	636	239	397
Tennessee	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015		1,350,430	11,386	0.84%	4,523	6,863	8,608	4,588	4,020
Texas	Banned by constitution and statute	June 26, 2015		5,486,996	61,995	1.13%	31,413	30,582	42,196	21,476	20,720
Utah	Banned by constitution and statute	October 6, 2014		679,547	5,666	0.83%	2,502	3,164	4,068	2,252	1,816
Wisconsin	Banned by constitution and statute	October 6, 2014		1,169,734	9,287	0.79%	4,302	4,985	8,427	3,142	5,285
Nebraska	Banned by constitution	June 26, 2015		398,895	2,565	0.64%	1,332	1,233	2,057	686	1,371
Oregon	Banned by constitution	May 19, 2014	Has comprehensive civil union or domenstic partnership law.	810,607	13,315	1.64%	5,087	8,228	10,501	4,856	5,645
Virginia	Banned by constitution	October 6, 2014		1,665,817	16,219	0.97%	7,424	8,795	14,730	6,457	8,273

As of 2015, same-sex marriage is federally legal in all fifty states due to a ruling from the Supreme Court.
A majority of states still have laws which ban marriage for same-sex couples via either a legal statute, a constitutional amendment, or both. These state bans are currently rendered unenforceable by the 2015 Federal Supreme Court case Obergefell, which established marriage equality nationwide.
Just over 25% of states have specifically legalized same-sex marriages through a comprehensive civil union or domenstic partnership law.
A small number of states have established targeted religious exemptions, such as allowing faith-based organizations to deny services to same-sex couples based upon the organization’s religious beliefs.

Same-sex marriage is the marriage of people of the same sex or gender. While same-sex marriage is legal in many countries it is still a debate in many places around the world. The first lawsuits involving same-sex marriage, also called gay marriage, started in the 1970s, bringing the question of civil marriage rights for same-sex couples to public attention. Many of these lawsuits were unsuccessful. On February 12, 2004, the first same-sex marriage in the United States happened in San Francisco, California. Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon become the first gay couple to marry and receive official recognition after being together for 50 years.

On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state and sixth jurisdiction in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. Following this, opponents of same-sex marriage began tightening marriage restrictions, with several states approving state constitutional amendments specifically defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

In 2008, California and Connecticut both legalized same-sex marriage, followed by Iowa, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Up until 2012, legalization came through state courts, the enactment of state legislation, or the result of the decisions of federal courts. On November 6, 2012, Maine, Maryland and Washington became the first states to legalize same-sex marriage through popular vote.

On June 26, 2015, in the landmark civil rights case Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, not all state legislatures are abiding by this decision and have enacted constitutional or statutory bans on same-sex marriage, known as the “Defense of Marriage” Acts. Thirteen of the 50 U.S. states still have a ban on same-sex marriage; however, because of Obergefell v. Hodges, these laws are null and void.

Same-Sex Marriage by State

The following 13 states have not legalized same-sex marriage: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Texas. Thirty-seven states have legalized gay marriage, with restrictions in Kansas, Missouri, and Alabama.

The following 37 states (and the District of Columbia) have legalized same-sex marriage: Alabama (2015), Alaska (2014), Arizona (2014), California (2008), Colorado (2014), Connecticut (2008), Delaware (2013), District of Columbia (2010), Florida (2014), Hawaii (2013), Idaho (2014), Illinois (2014), Indiana (2014), Iowa (2009), Kansas (2015), Maine (2012), Maryland (2012), Massachusetts (2004), Minnesota (2013), Montana (2014), Nevada (2014), New Hampshire (2010), New Jersey (2013), New Mexico (2013), New York (2011), North Carolina (2014), Oklahoma (2014), Oregon (2014), Pennsylvania (2014), Rhode Island (2013), South Carolina (2014), Utah (2014), Vermont (2009), Virginia (2014), Washington (2012), West Virginia (2014), Wisconsin (2014), and West Virginia (2014).

Same-Sex Marriage by State 2025

Same-Sex Marriage by State

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