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.