143 Million Americans Live In Municipalities That Recognize Gay Unions

By On Top Magazine Staff
Published: July 28, 2011

In the past 15 years, the number of Americans living in municipalities that recognize gay unions has increased ten-fold, according to a new study released this week by the Washington-based think tank Third Way.

The survey (below) lists five major indicators that illustrate the “seismic shift” between 1996, when President Bill Clinton signed into law the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which forbids federal agencies from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples, and now, when President Barack Obama supports repeal of the law.

In 15 years, support for marriage equality has doubled, from 27% to 53%. The number of Americans living in municipalities that recognize gay unions has increased from 13 million to 143 million. The number of Fortune 500 companies offering protections and benefits to gay employees and their partners has increased from 19 to 291. And President Obama has declined to defend DOMA in court.

“These findings demonstrate a remarkable transformation on this issue to the point that it can be argued there is a crystallizing consensus in favor of legal relationship recognition for gay and lesbian couples – extending all the way to marriage in many parts of the country,” the survey's authors wrote. “In 1996, DOMA was thought to have ended the debate on marriage. But it seems to have been only the beginning of a more profound shift in favor of gay and lesbian couples.”

Third Way's definition of recognition includes everything from marriage to local domestic partner registries, many of which guarantee no benefits whatsoever. According to that definition, 143 million Americans (46.4%) live in municipalities that recognize gay unions.

Third Way Report - Then and Now Relationship Recognition Since DOMA