Forty-two percent of Americans live in
states that in some form recognize the unions of gay and lesbian
couples.
The survey released by the gay rights
group Equality
Matters shows that 19
states and the District of Columbia have approved laws that recognize
gay unions.
Gay marriage is legal in five states –
Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont – and
the District of Columbia, covering 7 percent of the American
population. Another 7 states – Hawaii, Illinois, California,
Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon and Washington – offer gay couples
similar rights to marriage with civil unions or domestic
partnerships. Nearly 30 percent of Americans live in these 13
states.
Wisconsin, Rhode Island, New York,
Maryland, Maine and Colorado also offer domestic partnerships, but
these laws only offer a limited set of benefits.
New Mexico recognizes the out-of-state
marriages of gay and lesbian couples but bans all other forms of
recognition.
“These statistics are incredibly
significant,” the survey's authors said in releasing their
findings. “Despite the best efforts of anti-gay groups and
politicians, the LGBT community has made rapid progress across the
United States.”
Legislation that would legalize gay
marriage in Rhode Island and Washington has been introduced, while
Delaware and Colorado are considering civil unions. An effort for
marriage failed earlier this year in Maryland.