Across the Nation: State Constitutions & Statutes

Prior to 1996, few states had statutes banning same-sex marriage. In 1996, the Hawai’i Circuit Court decided Baehr v. Miike holding that the state’s same-sex marriage ban violated the equal protection clause of the Hawai’i Constitution. Fearing same-sex marriage would soon sweep the country, conservative legislators pushed for statutes or constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. Currently, all but nine states have such provisions. Since Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, many states have renewed efforts to prevent same-sex marriage via statute or constitutional amendment. This November, eleven states passed constitutional amendments banning same sex-marriage. These constitutional amendments are still subject to scrutiny by the judicial branch. Louisiana’s constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and civil unions was recently challenged via lawsuit in a Louisiana District Court. The Court struck the amendment down on the grounds that it had more than one purpose.

This map depicts states with constitutional amendments and/or statutes prohibiting same-sex marriage, prior to November, 2004. (Click to enlarge.)

This map depicts states with constitutional amendments which prohibit same-sex marriage, following the November, 2004 elections. (Click to enlarge.)