Same-sex marriage status in the United States by state

• 2 Attempts to pass marriage have been vetoed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
• Supreme Court struck down ban on same-sex marriage (In Re Marriage Cases).
• Proposition 8 qualifies by petition as an initiative for constitutional amendment to ban marriage.

Originally in 1999 under a passed law granting only hospital visitation rights, the scope of domestic partnerships was gradually expanded over the years that now has virtually nearly all the legal rights, duties and responsibilities of marriage in California - just as Nevada, Oregon and Washington state have done just next door. Now a domestic partnership in California is the same as another states civil union scheme (e.g. Hawaii-eff. 2012, Delaware-eff. 2012, Illinois, New Jersey and Rhode Island).

Connecticut allows full civil marriage licences to same-sex couples since November 2008 and all civil unions converted into civil marriage on 1 October 2010.

Domestic partnerships were enacted in 1992; implemented from 2002 and then expanded from 2003 to 2009. Same-sex marriages were legalized on December 18, 2009 and marriages began on March 9, 2010.

Civil Union Act 2011 No 1 has been approved on February 2011 in the 2011 Hawaii State Legislature and signed into law by the Governor, effective midnight from 1.1.2012 - just like Delaware.

In August 2007, Polk County judge ruled Iowa's statutory ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, but ruling was quickly stayed and appealed. On appeal, the Iowa Supreme Court upheld the Polk County ruling in the case of Varnum v. Brien.

Legislative initiative to begin constitutional ban ballot process was unsuccessful in 2009. Republicans will continue to try to push for these ballot bans in the next Legislative sessions, while the Democrats will continue to oppose ballot bans in the next legislative sessions.

The Maine Domestic Partnership Act came into effect on July 30, 2004.^[1]
Same-sex couple who married elsewhere may register their marriage as a domestic partnership. In 2009, the "people's veto" won by 52.9 percent in November and repealed the recently passed same sex marriage that passed the Maine Legislature and got signed into law.

"The first state law defining marriage as a union between a man and woman was adopted by Maryland in 1973."^[1] Since 2010 same sex marriage has been recognised in Maryland. In 2011, the Maryland Senate passed by a vote of 25-21 the Civil Marriage Equality and Religious Protections Bill 2011, the Maryland House failed to pass the bill into law because of time limits, delays in debating and filibusters – However the same bill will be voted on in the 2012 Maryland Legislative Session.

The state of New Jersey has neither allowed nor recognized marriages between couples of the same-sex. However, the New Jersey Supreme Court, in Lewis v. Harris, required the New Jersey Legislature to change state law by April 24, 2007 to afford same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples.^[7] A bill now allows civil unions that will supersede domestic partnerships. These are no more applied but may remain for the present ones.

Domestic partnership legislation in Oregon is very similar to the CA, NV and WA models.

A law passed in 2007 to establish domestic partnerships similar to CA, OR and NV models and then in 2008 the domestic partnership law expanded. The 2009 reforms called the "all-but-marriage law" came into effect from December 3, 2009 was approved by 53 percent of voters under Washington Referendum 71 (2009). In July 2011, a law passed that will allow same-sex marriage and other same-sex unions (such as civil unions or domestic partnerships) from another state to be recognised as domestic partnerships under WA state law^[11] In 2012, there is a possible house vote on legislation to allow same sex marriage, however the bill could stall in the Washington state Senate.^[12]