Gay Marriage States Map: At last, North Dakota is no longer the only state in the country to have no cases filed for a same sex marriage law as a seven same sex couples petitioned last June for legalization of their marriage in the state’s district court.

As of now, 19 states and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage, namely: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

Meanwhile, other states have declared other laws as compromise. Although Colorado does not allow same-sex marriage, civil unions between any genders is still permitted. In Nevada, Oregon, and Wisconsin, domestic partnerships are allowed, wherein same-sex couples are provided limited benefits.

Almost 44 percent of Americans live in a state that allows same-sex marriage, while over 46 percent of the US population live in a state that is open for broad legal status such as civil union or domestic partnership. On the other hand, most Americans (over 48 percent of them) live in states where same-sex couples are never allowed to be married or legally bound. The said data is courtesy of the Freedom to Marry, Inc.

Although Vermont was the first to introduce the idea of same-sex marriages by allowing civil unions in July 2000, Massachusetts was the first state to ever legalize same-sex marriage last May 17, 2004. It was later followed by states Connecticut and Iowa last 2008 and 2009, respectively.

Among the 50 US states, the 2012 Gallup poll reported that North Dakota has the lowest proportion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender residents in relation to the total population of the citizens in the state—that is approximately only two percent.

For the complete list of all the states that allow and ban same-sex marriages or civil unions, check out: https://www.freedomtomarry.org/states/