Same-sex Marriage in California

Same-sex Marriage In California

Performed in some jurisdictions

Mexico: Mexico City, ROO
United States: CT, DC, IA, MA, MD†, ME†, NH, NY, VT, WA†, Coquille, Suquamish

Recognized, not performed

Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten
Israel
Mexico: all states
United States: CA, RI

Civil unions and
registered partnerships

Andorra
Austria
Brazil
Colombia
Czech Republic
Ecuador
Finland
France
Germany
Greenland

Hungary
Ireland
Isle of Man
Jersey
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
New Zealand
Slovenia
Switzerland
United Kingdom
Uruguay

Performed in some jurisdictions

Australia: ACT, NSW, QLD, TAS, VIC
Mexico: COA
United States: CA, CO, DE, HI, IL, NJ, NV, OR, RI, WI
Venezuela: Mérida

Unregistered cohabitation

Australia
Croatia

Israel

See also

Same-sex union legislation
Timeline of same-sex marriage
Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe
Recognition of same-sex unions in South America
Marriage privatization
Domestic partnership
Military policy
Listings by country

†Note: Law not yet in effect LGBT portal

The status of same-sex marriage in California is unique among the 50 U.S. states, in that the state formerly granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but has discontinued doing so. The period of granting such licenses began on June 16, 2008, due to a ruling by the Supreme Court of California based on an equal protection argument and ended November 5, 2008, due to the passage of Proposition 8, an amendment to the California Constitution that limited marriages to those between one man and one woman.

Before the passage of Proposition 8, California was only the second state to allow same-sex marriage. Marriages granted by any civil entity, foreign or otherwise, anytime before the passage of Proposition 8 remain legally recognized and retain full state-level marriage rights. Subsequent state legislation established that any same-sex marriages granted by other jurisdictions after the passage of Proposition 8 retain the state rights that come with marriage, except for the legal term "marriage" itself.

On August 4, 2010, a federal court declared the ban unconstitutional in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, a decision which was upheld by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on February 7, 2012. The case, now known as Perry v. Brown, was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 31, 2012.

Read more about Same-sex Marriage In California:  History, Legislation, Economic Impact

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