Same-sex marriage law in the United States by state

This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. The reason given is: include the revisions in the Respect for Marriage Act. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (December 2022)

This article summarizes the same-sex marriage laws of states in the United States. Via the case Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States legalized same-sex marriage in a decision that applies nationwide, with the exception of American Samoa and sovereign tribal nations.

There are 29 states which have constitutions including bans on same-sex marriage or other types of unions, and 31 states have statutes that ban same-sex marriage or other types of unions although these are all defunct under the Obergefell ruling. In November 2020, Nevada became the first state to repeal its constitutional ban on same-sex marriage following Obergefell.

As of 2015, same-sex marriage is now federally legal in all fifty states due to a ruling from the Supreme Court. However, in the aftermath of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling, statutory or constitutional bans on same-sex marriages have received renewed attention over its applicability should Obergefell be overturned.^[1][2]

In December 2022, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act that legally protects same-sex and inter-racial marriages from being banned by state laws. In the case that Obergefell is overturned and individual states outlaw same-sex marriages, the new legislation regulates that states must recognize legal unions performed in states where they are legal. The Respect for Marriage Act was passed with bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress.^[3]