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A same-sex wedding is a wedding between two people of the same gender. Same-sex weddings are illegal in many countries and localities. In addition, same-sex couples often struggle with heterosexism.

Legality

Only a few states and countries have legalized same-sex weddings.

United States

In the United States, only the states of Massachusetts and California recognize same-sex marriages. Other states recognize same-sex marriages from other states; this includes New York state.

Some states have created legal unions which share all the rights of marriage, although with a separate name. These states are Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey, California, and New Hampshire.

Some other states have created subsets of marriage with various names, ranging from civil union to domestic partnership. These states and regions are are Maine, Hawaii, the District of Columbia, Oregon and Washington.

The United States federal government does not recognize same-sex marriages.

Canada

Canada has legalized same-sex marriage nationwide since 2005, with the passage of the Civil Marriage Act.

Other

Other countries that have legalized same-sex marriage include Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, and Spain.

Some countries recognize foreign same-sex marriages, even if they haven't themselves legalized same-sex marriage. These countries include Israel, Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles.

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