Arizona saw same-sex marriage jump in wake of judicial rulings
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The number of married same-sex couples in Arizona rose dramatically in the wake of the 2014 and 2015 judicial rulings legalizing them at the state and national levels, according to the most recent American Community Survey (ACS) data.
The big picture: Between 2014 — when a federal judge struck down Arizona's gay marriage ban — and 2021, same-sex married couples in Arizona increased from about 6,000 to nearly 19,000.
- Prior to the 2014 ruling, the number of same-sex married couples in Arizona saw slight growth, from about 2,400 in 2008, the year the state's voters approved its ban, to nearly 3,900 in 2013.
- 55.1% of same-sex couples in Arizona were married in 2022, compared with 58% nationwide.
By the numbers: From 2008 to 2014, the overall number of same-sex households in Arizona went from from nearly 13,000 to about 17,500.
- The following year, that number jumped to nearly 21,000.
- In 2016, the number of married same-sex households surpassed unmarried in Arizona for the first time.
- Same-sex married households dropped from 2021 to 2022, the last year for which the ACS has data.
Zoom out: About 41% of current same-sex couples got married between 2015, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, and 2019, a new Census Bureau report finds.
- There were approximately 1.3 million same-sex couple households nationwide as of 2022, per the ACS data. That's compared with about 565,000 in 2008.
- There were about 741,000 married same-sex couple households as of 2022, up from roughly 150,000 in 2008.
Zoom in: Across the U.S., Delaware (81.4%), New Hampshire (72.3%) and Wyoming (70.7%) have the highest share of same-sex couple households who are married.
- Washington, D.C. (48.2%), Alaska (48.1%) and Tennessee (47.9%) have the lowest.
There's no 2020 data here because the COVID-19 pandemic interfered with the Census Bureau's collection efforts.
Reality check: The Bureau has struggled in the past to accurately count same-sex marriages.
- In 2019, the ACS began specifically asking about same-sex spouses and unmarried partners in American households, a tweak meant to improve data collection efforts.
- The Census Bureau is now experimenting with new questions about sexual orientation and gender identity to better count and understand a historically overlooked group.
Threat level: While Obergefell protected the right to marry at the federal level, lawmakers in many states are still seeking to curtail LGBTQ+ Americans' rights.
- The Arizona Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that Phoenix's nondiscrimination ordinance couldn't force a company to create custom invitations for same-sex weddings.
- The Supreme Court, meanwhile, ruled last year that businesses can refuse service to same-sex couples on religious objection grounds.
The bottom line: Obergefell clearly had a massive impact on millions of Americans' lives, even if the battle for equality persists.