Freedom To Marry

The gay and non-gay partnership working to win marriage equality nationwide

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District of Columbia

The District of Columbia is home to a large community of same-sex couples and their families. The District city council passed a domestic partnership law in 1992, which offered a few (less than 8 of 212 in the DC code) protections and responsibilities to same-sex couples and their families, but the U.S. Congress blocked this law from taking effect until 2002. DC now stands with thirteen states offering some statewide form of recognition for same-sex couples and their families. State advocacy groups continue to work for true fairness and equality by ending the exclusion of gay and lesbian couples and their families from marriage.


WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:

Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance
GLAA is a local, all-volunteer, non-partisan, non-profit political organization, founded in 1971. We are the nation's oldest continuously active organization fighting for the civil rights of gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders.

DC for Marriage
DC for Marriage is an emerging group of local residents working towards equal rights and responsibilities for same sex couples in the District of Columbia.

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LEGISLATIVE STATUS IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA:

Your Community—District of Columbia
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
HRC presents resources, news, and the current marriage and relationship recognition laws in each state.

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PUBLICATIONS:

District of Columbia Census Snapshot
Williams Institute
December 2007
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in the District of Columbia.

Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples in the U.S. Census and the American Community Survey
Williams Institute
November 2007

Gary Gates at the Williams Institute released groundbreaking research on the geographic trends among same-sex couples. The report finds the biggest increases in Southern and Mountain states and states barring legal acceptance of same-sex couples had larger percentage increases in same-sex couples from 2000 to 2006.

Marriage Law in the District of Columbia
Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance
December 2003

This report enumerates the 212 protections and responsibilities of marriage in the District of Columbia code, most of which same-sex couples and their families are excluded from.

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NEWS:

View news about the fight for the freedom to marry in DC.

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Marriage Law in DC

This report enumerates the 212 protections and responsibilities of marriage in the District of Columbia code, most of which same-sex couples and their families are excluded from.

DC Census Snapshot

Williams Institute
December 2007
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in the District of Columbia.

Sharing Our Stories

Read families’ stories about how marriage discrimination affects everyday life. These stories communicate, in concrete ways, how the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage hurts families and helps no one.

The Marriage Basics

Start in The Marriage Basics to get short answers to your big questions about the freedom to marry, and learn more about the protections and responsibilities of marriage, the historical background for this civil rights movement, why separate is not equal, and so much more.