Nine states (Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Washington and Vermont) and Washington, D.C., permit marriage for same-sex couples. In 2012, the legislature in New Jersey passed a marriage-equality bill, and work is now underway to override the governor's veto.
New Mexico and Rhode Island explicitly respect out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples, while eight states now offer broad protections short of marriage. Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey and Rhode Island allow civil unions, while California, Oregon and Nevada offer broad domestic partnership. Two other states (Colorado and Wisconsin) have more limited domestic partnerships.
With these advances, a record number of residents live in states that recognize relationships between same-sex couples:
Nearly 17 percent of the U.S. population lives in a state that either has the freedom to marry or honors out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples.
Nearly 39 percent of the U.S. population lives in a state with either marriage or a broad legal status such as civil union or domestic partnership.
Over 42 percent of the U.S. population lives in a state that provides some form of protections for gay couples.
Courtesy of Freedom to Marry
Larger view of map at the Additional Photospread link under the image.
Related articles:
Civil Unions: Separate and Unequal to Marriage
www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Civil-Unions-Separate-and-Unequal-to-Marriage-/41922.html .
Gay and Lesbian Wedding Guide: Business listings
www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Gay-and-Lesbian-Wedding-Guide-Business-listings/41921.html .
How to 'capture' the love: Book on wedding photography
www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/How-to-capture-the-love-Book-on-wedding-photography/41919.html .
Download full wedding section here: www.windycitymediagroup.com/pdf/wedding.pdf .