Marriage Equality Fast Facts

Five nations currently allow same-sex couples to legally marry:

• The Netherlands is the first nation in the world to offer legal marriage for same-sex couples. The law took effect on April 1, 2001.
• Belgium: On January 30, 2003, the Belgian legislature made a law allowing same-sex couples to obtain a marriage license.
• Canada: On June 28, 2005, the Canadian federal system allowed legal marriage by parliamentary vote.
• Spain: On June 29, 2005. Marriage in Spain was the result of a campaign promise made by the ruling Socialists as part of their agenda for social reform.
• South Africa: On December 1, 2005, South Africa became the fifth nation in the world to offer legal marriage to same-sex couples. Suits for legal marriage began in the U.S. in 1971.

In the U.S., Massachusetts remains the only state where same-sex couples can legally marry:

• Marriage licenses to same-sex couples were issued beginning on May 17, 2004.
• The world – as we know it – did not come to an end:
  • One year later, in May 2005
    • Over 6,000 gay and lesbian couples had been married
    • A statewide poll by Mass Equality found that 62% of those Massachusetts residents polled support marriage equality for gays and lesbians.
    • Fully 84% of voters believed marriage equality has either had a positive impact or no impact on the quality of life in Massachusetts.
    • 82% of those surveyed said allowing gays and lesbians to marry has either had a positive impact or no impact at all on traditional marriages, contradicting one of the core arguments of opponents.
    • All state legislators who supported gay marriage were voted back into office in November 2004.

Legal marriage in the U.S. is a state-defined contract currently available only to a man and a woman, except in Massachusetts. Every state has a different set of marriage laws — numbering from 160 to more than 250. The U.S. Federal system has more than 1,138 laws which are triggered by legal marriage.

While opposite-sex couples married by a state government are automatically granted a broad range of rights at the federal level, same-sex couples in the U.S. are legally considered strangers and therefore denied all 1,138 federal rights that come with a marriage certificate.

Support for same-sex marriage is growing among a key demographic – those getting married:

• A New York Times/CBS News/MTV poll in June 2007 reported that 44 percent of 17-29 year olds said they believed that same-sex couples should be permitted to get married, compared with 28 percent of the public at large.
• The median age for first marriage, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is 25 for women and 27 for men.

According to 2007 proprietary research by Love and Pride LLC, 45% of straight women and 38% of straight men said that they were interested in supporting the right of their lesbian and gay family and friends to marry through their engagement and wedding band purchases.

For years, Lambda Legal has worked to fight discrimination in marriage:

• In the 1990s, Lambda Legal helped win the first successful high court ruling in favor of marriage equality in Hawaii. Although the ruling was eventually revoked, it launched one of the most significant chapters in the movement for LGBT equality.
• Lambda Legal won a unanimous ruling from the New Jersey Supreme Court in 2006 that same-sex couples must be provided with all the rights and responsibilities that different-sex couples receive through marriage. This victory led to the passage of the state’s civil union law.
• In 2007 Lambda Legal won the first successful marriage victory in the Midwest in its Iowa marriage case. A trial court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry violates the state’s guarantees of liberty and equality. The case will ultimately be decided by the Iowa Supreme Court.