Relationship Recognition
All people deserve the opportunity to enter into a loving relationship with a long-term partner and to create a family and a home. Unfortunately, the legal protections that go along with relationship recognition and family units are not a reality for most LGBT Americans. Here’s the State of Equality on statewide laws that recognize same-sex relationships.
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| States that afford the freedom to marry to all caring, committed couples. | States with statutes that make available to same-sex couples virtually all of the legal protections of marriage, but not the dignity and societal respect that accompanies the term “marriage.” | States with very limited legal protections associated with marriage. | States that recognize out-of-state marriages entered into by same-sex couples, but do not allow same-sex couples to marry. | No statewide recognition, or legal protections of marriage for same-sex couples. |
| 6 states | DC 12% of US population | 7 states | 24% of US population | 3 states | 5% of US population | 2 states | 1% of US population | 32 states | 58% of US population |
| (CT, MA, VT, IA, NH, DC, NY) | (”Civil Unions:” NJ, IL, HI) (”Domestic Partnerships:” CA, OR, NV) (WA is subject to referendum) |
(”Domestic Partnerships:” ME, WI) (”Reciprocal Beneficiaries:” CO) | (RI, MD) |