Defense of Marriage Acts

Forty-one states currently have statutory Defense of Marriage Acts. Three of those states have statutory language that pre-dates DOMA (enacted before 1996) defining marriage as between a man and a woman.  Twenty-seven states have defined marriage in their constitutions.  

States with Statutes Defining Marriage

States with Constitutional Language Defining Marriage

States with No Provision Prohibiting Same-Sex Marriage

States with a Constitutional Amendment on ballot in 2006 that Did Not Pass

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
California
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Idaho
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland*
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
New Hampshire
North Carolina
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wyoming

*-In January 2006, a state judge found the Maryland statute unconstitutional but it remains in effect pending appeal.

Alabama
Alaska
Arkansas
Colorado
Georgia
Hawaii*
Idaho
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Wisconsin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Hawaii's constitution was amended in 1998 to read "The Legislature shall have the power to reserve marriage to opposite-sex couples."  The Hawaii legislature subsequently passed a law prohibiting marriage for same-sex couples.

Connecticut
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Rhode Island

Arizona

TOTALS:                41

                                27

                             6

 
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Click here for same sex marriage timeline

For more information on same sex marriage issues, please contact Christine Nelson or Jack Tweedie in the Denver office at 303.364.7700 or cyf-info@ncsl.org or either Sheri Steisel or Lee Posey in the D.C. office at 202.624.5400 or fedhumserv-info@ncsl.org.