The status of same-sex couples’ marriage rights is changing daily. BuzzFeed News will be updating this map as changes warrant to give everyone an up-to-the-minute view of what the latest marriage news means. [Updated as of Nov. 21.]
John Barro/BuzzFeed
Same-sex couples can marry in a majority of states in the country — something that was not true until October 2014. Since the Supreme Court decided not to hear appeals of challenges to five states' marriage bans on Oct. 6, the ground has been shifting quickly.
As the process continues to play out, BuzzFeed News will be updating this map and the descriptions below to keep tabs on what's happening at any given moment in the many challenges to bans playing out across the country.
In the less than 10-and-a-half years since same-sex couples began marrying in Massachusetts, 25 other states and Washington, D.C., have joined the ranks of states where same-sex couples can marry.
In 13 jurisdictions, lawmakers voted for marriage equality — although voters initially reversed that action in Maine and the legislation was vetoed in California. The other 11 jurisdictions: Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Washington, D.C.
Voters in three states approved marriage equality at the polls: Maine in an initiative the reversed voters' earlier decision, as well as Maryland and Washington, where efforts to reverse marriage equality through a referendum were rebuffed.
State courts, considering state law, found a right to marriage equality in Hawaii, Massachusetts, California, Connecticut, Iowa, New Jersey, and New Mexico — although constitutional amendments later reversed those decisions in Hawaii and California.
Finally, beginning with Utah, the final frontier of marriage equality — federal courts considering federal rights — led to marriage equality after courts found bans on same-sex couples' marriages to be unconstitutional in nine states: Colorado, Indiana, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
In this quickly changing environment, there are eight states where same-sex couples are able to marry statewide — but a related appeal, from officials or an organization, is ongoing.
In Oregon, the National Organization for Marriage attempted to intervene in the case and was denied. They appealed that denial, were rejected, and have asked the full appeals court to rehear their appeal. In light of the Supreme Court's 2013 decision that outside groups have no standing to appeal a marriage decision when state or local officials no longer are appealing the issue, NOM is unlikely to succeed in this appeal.
In Nevada, the Coalition for the Protection of Marriage has asked the full appeals court to rehear last week's decision striking down Nevada's ban on same-sex couples' marriages. For the same reason as with the Prop 8 case, the coalition here is unlikely to succeed in this appeal request.
In North Carolina, state lawmakers have intervened in marriage litigation and are attempting to appeal decisions ending the state's marriage ban.
In Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, and South Carolina, officials have said they will be or are appealing the district court or appeals court decisions further.
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