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No. As of the year 2000, no state has passed a law recognizing homosexual
Amarriages@ per se. If two members of the same sex were to go through a marriage ceremony,
the courts would not consider the marriage to be valid, and, in the event the parties split up, they
could not seek a legal divorce. The Vermont legislature has enacted a statute that allows samesex
couples to form Acivil unions@ to give same-sex couples the same benefits and protections as
opposite-sex couples who enter into marriages. The law is being challenged in the courts by
persons opposed to same-sex unions. The Vermont Supreme Court has already ruled, however
that same-sex couples should have the same rights as opposite-sex couples.
A decision by the Hawaii Supreme Court in the 1990s made it appear that Hawaii would
become the first state to authorize same-sex marriages. The state, however, amended its
constitution to preclude such marriages.