Marital Property

Governor Jack Markell has signed a bill adding Delaware to the list of states that authorize the creation of civil unions for same-sex couples that have the same rights as married couples under state law. read article The list of states that recognizes civil unions now includes California, Delaware, Hawai`i, Illinois, Nevada,New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington. States that recognize domestic partnership arrangements that have more limited rights include Colorado, Maine, Maryland, and Wisconsin. read article Jurisdictions that authorize same-sex marriage are Connecticut, District of Columbia, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont. In California, 18,000 couples were married before the constitutional amendment was approved abolishing same-sex marriage. New York and Maryland recognize marriages celebrated in states that recognize them. Rhode Island recognizes out-of-state same-sex marriages for some purposes, while California, Illinois, New Jersey, and New Mexico recognizes such marriages as civil unions. read article

On February 23, 2011, Governor Neil Abercrombie signed a bill allowing same sex couples to enter civil unions with same rights and privileges under state law as married couples. read article

On July 15, 2010, the Argentine Senate voted to approve same-sex marriages, adding its voice to a similar bill approved in May by the lower house. Because President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner supports the bill, it will become the law. The Parliament in Iceland unanimously approved a similar bill (by a vote of 49-0) on June 12. Argentina and Iceland join the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, and Portugal in providing full marriage rights for same sex-couples in addition to the states of Massachusetts, Iowa, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia, although these state-law based marriages are not recognized by the federal government in the United States because of federal Defense of Marriage Act. read article

Judge Joseph L. Tauro of the District Court of Massachusetts ruled that the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) violates the constitution by prohibiting the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages that are valid under state law. In one opinion, he ruled that the law violates the Tenth Amendment by intruding on areas reserved to the states, noting that family law (including the law of marriage) has traditionally been regulated by state law and not federal law. Commonwealth v. U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2010 WL 2695668 (D. Mass. 2010).  In a separate opinion, he ruled that DOMA violates the equal protection clause because the government could not provide any rational basis for failing to recognize same-sex marriages. Gill v. Office of Personnel Management, 2010 WL 2695652 (D. Mass. 2010). read article

Beginning March 4, 2010, same-sex couples may apply for a marriage license in Washington, D.C. and get married after the requisite waiting period. read article. The D.C. City Council passed the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act which allows same-sex marriage. See D. C. Act 18–248; 57 D. C. Reg. 27 (Jan. 1, 2010). In addition, the Attorney General of Maryland recently announced that Maryland would recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere since nothing in Maryland law precluded such recognition. On March 2, 2010, Chief Justice Roberts refused to issue a stay preventing the law from going into effect. Jackson v. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics, No. 09A807, 559 U.S. — (Mar. 2, 2010).