Activists are moving to make marriage available to same-sex couples in at least ten states, and many of those attempts have been emboldened and re-energized by the recent Supreme Court decision on DOMA. Attempts in Arkansas, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio and Oregon are all at various stages and all face different challenges, including in some states having to first remove bans on same-sex marriage via popular vote or legislative efforts. Other attempts are moving through the courts in cases filed by same-sex couples.
Currently, thirteen states, Washington, D.C., and several Native American tribes offer same-sex marriage. After the Supreme Court last month let the Prop 8 decision stand — effectively killing the ban on same-sex marriage — about 30 percent of America’s citizen live in areas that allow marriage equality.
If all these current efforts succeed, 23 — almost half of all states in the nation — would allow same-sex marriage, an amazing achievement in the ten years since Massachusetts was the first.
Experts believe Illinois, New Jersey, and Hawaii could be added to the list of marriage equality states by the end of the year.
Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, Nevada, Ohio, and Oregon could put repeals of marriage bans on the ballot in 2014 or 2016.
In New Mexico, “It’s complicated,” says NBC News:
A court case could be decided as early as next year. The Legislature could act, too, but bills both to enact and prohibit gay marriage have gone nowhere so far, and Gov. Susana Martinez opposes it.
Chris Geidener at Buzzfeed has a more in-depth breakdown that’s worth the read — take a look.
Hypothetically, if all these attempts are successful, and with nearly half the nation’s states supporting marriage equality, can a final push at the Supreme Court to make it the law of the land be far away?
Image by Stephen Luke via Flickr