Same-Sex Marriages

Marriage in the United States is a contractual agreement between two people that creates legal kinship. Entering into the agreement allows for certain rights and obligations between the two individuals. For instance, the two share responsibilities for one another's debts and the burden of providing financial support for children born in the marriage, among many others. The rights and benefits are also numerous and include sharing property, health insurance, social security benefits, and tax and survivor benefits and obtaining permanent residence for his or her spouse if the spouse is a noncitizen. Even if a marriage is dissolved, the once-married individuals often receive future benefits as a result of the marriage. In addition to the practical benefits of marriage, there are social and symbolic meanings that make it desirable to couples in love. Marriage is highly coveted and respected as the union that tells the world that the couple are in love, devoted, and committed to one another. These benefits are sought after not only by different-sex couples but by same-sex couples as well. According to the Williams Institute, as of November 2011, there were 646,464 same-sex couples in the United States, and nearly 50,000 same-sex couples have married.

Laws governing the demographics of marriage have changed over time but especially over the past 10 years. Specifically, there is an increasing acceptance by states to allow individuals of the same sex to marry. Although some states allow marriage of same-sex couples, federal law does not recognize these marriages. States are also protected, by federal law, from being required to recognize a same-sex marriage from another state. There are several variations on the formal commitment ceremony and contractual agreement that some states accept for same-sex couples. Civil unions, domestic partnerships, and reciprocal beneficiaries are a few of these nonmarriage unions. In the United States, the federal government does not recognize civil unions, and states are not required to recognize them either. The rights and responsibilities associated with each type of union depend on each state's law. More than 20% of same-sex couples living in the United States today have committed to one another in a nonmarital ceremony. Same-sex couples overwhelmingly prefer, however, to marry. In fact, the economic and social reasons to marry are much the same for same-sex couples as they are for different-sex couples.

National polls demonstrate an increased acceptance of lesbian and gay people and same-sex couples. As a testament to this, more politicians are stating their acceptance. On May 9, 2012, President Barack Obama became the first president in U.S. history to publicly support gay marriage. This endorsement followed his earlier disavowal of a federal law defining marriage as between a man and a woman (The Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, signed into law by the former president Bill Clinton in 1996), as well as his repeal of the law that prohibited openly gay people in the military (a result of the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy also implemented by Clinton in 1993). As a result of DOMA, the federal government does not recognize marriage between individuals of the same sex. In recent years, however, several states now grant marriage licenses to such couples. In addition to the states, several cities, Native American tribal jurisdictions, and municipal districts now recognize same-sex marriage, including Washington, D.C., Oregon's Coquille Tribe, and Washington State's Suquamish Tribe. And while DOMA was passed in part to ensure that states would not be required to recognize a samesex marriage performed in another state, California, Maryland, and Rhode Island do recognize these marriages. For a brief period (approximately two months in 2008), California allowed the performance of same-sex marriage ceremonies until voters passed Proposition 8, prohibiting the unions. Thirty states now have bans on gay marriage, with North Carolina becoming the latest, passing a law in May 2012.

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