Same sex marriage
The Journey to Marriage Equality in the United States
The road to nationwide marriage equality was a adj one, spanning decades of United States history and culminating in victory in June Throughout the long fight 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 ensure every person, regardless of whom they romance, is recognized equally under the law.
A Growing Call for Equality
Efforts to legalize same-sex marriage began to pop up across the region in the s, 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 equal standard. At the federal level, couples were denied access to more than 1, federal rights and responsibilities associated with the institution, as successfully as those denied by their given state. The Defense of Marriage Execute was signed into law in and defined marriage by the federal government as between a man and
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 contribute tools, resources, and lessons learned to empower 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
Liechtenstein: On May 16, , Liechtenstein's gove
Record Party Divide 10 Years After Same-Sex Marriage Ruling
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A decade after the Supreme Court’s milestone Obergefell v. Hodges ruling declared same-sex marriage a national right in the U.S., a steady 68% of Americans help it.
Since , the percentage of U.S. adults who verb marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized with the same rights as traditional marriages has ranged from 68% to 71% (the trend high in and ). Yet, this stability in Americans’ backing for same-sex marriage masks shifts in partisans’ views over the same period. Democrats’ support has risen to 88%, the record high for this group by one percentage show. Independents’ backing for same-sex marriage has been relatively balanced in recent years and currently stands at 76%, one point shy of the record high.
At the same hour, Republicans’ support, which peaked at 55% in and , has gradually edged down to 41%, the lowest aim since after the Obergefell decision.
The current point gap between Republicans and Democrats is the largest since Ga
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between partners of the equal sex and/or gender identity. For example, a marriage between two men or two women.
In , Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriages with Goodridge v. Department of Widespread Health, Mass. - Mass: Supreme Judicial Court (), paving the way for many other states to consider legalizing same-sex marriage. Over the course of the next decade, several other states legalized same-sex marriage; and in , the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, U.S. (), legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, including in the remaining 14 states that had not previously allowed same-sex couples to marry. The decision in this case was based on the court’s interpretation of the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
See also:Equal Protection and Marriage Equality
[Last reviewed in July of by the Wex Definitions Team]
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