Well, now South Carolina is in a group of 20 states which still are not compelled to allow homosexual marriage. Today’s decision by the Supreme Court, to step aside and allow lower court rulings on marriage to take place, will allow homosexual marriage to spread from 19 states to as many as 30 states, effective in coming days and weeks. Some marriages already happened today.
The courts are spreading homosexual marriage. How many states have allowed homosexual marriage through the legislative process? The biggest one I know of is New York. I believe New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine and Maryland took legislative action . Any others?
Would be interesting to see, but I think the majority of states now allowing homosexual marriage allow it because it was forced on them by court order.
Maryland, Minnesota, Maine and Washington State passed gay marriage by popular vote (i.e., in referenda). Gay marriage was passed by votes of the Legislatures in Connecticut, Washington DC, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois and Vermont. The New Jersey legislature passed gay marriage, but Gov. Christie vetoed it (but then failed to defend a lawsuit seeking gay marriage from the courts).
They voted for gay marriage in Maine.
Laws were passed legalizing it in Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maryland Vermont and New York.
In addition to those states, they passed laws legalizing gay marriage in Delaware, Illinois and Hawaii. They also passed same-sex marriage in Washington state, which was upheld by referendum.
Outside of those 10 states, the "right" has been conferred by the courts, despite outright Constitutional bans in many of those other 20 states. Quite odious if you ask me. It's one thing if the people or the people through their legislators change a state law. It's another if judges meddle in a state right.