How is gay marriage legal

Married same-sex households have outnumbered unmarried same-sex households since In , the Supreme Court ruled on Obergefell v. Hodges , thereby legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. In the years since the decision, households headed by married same-sex couples have become more common, but the changes have differed by state.

Since the first same-sex marriages were legally recognized in the Netherlands in , nearly 40 other jurisdictions — mostly in Europe and the Americas — have enacted laws allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry. This year, Thailand and Liechtenstein join the list. Use the interactive table below to sort the places allowing same-sex marriages by name, region and the year legal same-sex marriage took effect. The table also includes some key facts about the process in each jurisdiction.

It means the 14 states with bans on same-sex marriage will no longer be able to enforce them. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that , external the plaintiffs asked "for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right. The ruling brings to an end more than a decade of bitter legal battles.

Last Updated: May 28, June 26, marks a major milestone for civil rights in the United States, as the Supreme Court announces its decision in Obergefell v. By one vote, the court rules that same-sex marriage cannot be banned in the United States and that all same-sex marriages must be recognized nationwide, finally granting same-sex couples equal rights to heterosexual couples under the law. In , just two years after the Stonewall Riots that unofficially marked the beginning of the struggle for gay rights and marriage equality, the Minnesota Supreme Court had found same-sex marriage bans constitutional, a precedent which the Supreme Court had never challenged.