Know Your Rights: Same-Sex Marriage
Last updated: January 13, 2026 12:50 pm
NOTE: This page is intended to provide information for same-sex couples who are considering getting married in California. It isn't intended to be legal advice and shouldn't be taken as such. For legal advice concerning your particular situation, please consult an attorney.
Same-sex couples have had the freedom to marry in California since 2013, when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the appeal of a federal district court ruling invalidating Proposition 8, which had stripped same-sex couples of the freedom to marry. In 2015, the Court’s historic decision in Obergefell v. Hodges granted same-sex couples the right to marry throughout the United States. The Court held that the 14th Amendment requires states to allow same-sex couples to marry and to recognize marriages of same-sex couples performed outside of their home state.
In November 2024, California voters enshrined marriage equality in the state constitution and formally repealed Proposition 8.
For more information about your freedom to marry and antidiscrimination protections, please contact us.
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