Where was gay marriage legalized first

Married same-sex households have outnumbered unmarried same-sex households since Inthe Supreme Court ruled on Obergefell v. Hodgesthereby 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.

By the end ofthe year of the Obergefell v. The largest were in and following 29 states legalizing these unions. Households headed by same-sex couples have increased However, the number of households with same-sex couples was rising years before Obergefell v. It was even rising years before States started legalizing same-sex marriage in the mids.

Inthe Census changed the methodology for counting same-sex households and marriage rates rose accordingly. The number of same-sex married couples has increased each year except between and InMassachusetts was the first state to legalize same-sex marriage. Iowa also legalized same-sex marriage in Same-sex marriage was legal in California from June 16,to November 4,but was overturned by Proposition 8.

The state legalized again in June Six other states — Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Michigan, Utah, and Wisconsin — had court actions that temporarily allowed same-sex marriages. By the time same-sex marriage was legalized federally, it had already been legal in 38 states and Washington, DC.

As of34 states had laws or constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage.

How is same-sex marriage in the US changing?

These are superseded by federal law and may also be affected by prior state supreme court or lower federal court rulings. As ofthe highest shares of married households headed by same-sex couples were in Washington, DC, 5. Other Northeast states had comparatively higher percentages:.

On the west side of the country the states with the highest percentage of same sex couples were:. Colorado is an outlier compared to the states surrounding it, with 1. North Dakota had the lowest percentage of same-sex couple households 0. However, Iowa was the exception to the rule, as these households grew in every other state.

Montana had the largest increase, Montana started with one of the lowest counts, however — married households in — which grew to 3, by Nevada followed at The number of same-sex marriage households doubled in all but 10 states. The states with the smallest percentage increases were North Dakota States with the largest populations tend to have the most households with same-sex marriages.