Love Wins in Nevada: The State Becomes the First in the U.S. to Protect Same-Sex Marriage

Nevada has just become the first state in the nation to protect same-sex marriage in its state constitution!

In Tuesday’s election, residents voted in favor of removing an inactive ban on same-sex marriage, which was a part of a 2002 amendment that stated marriage should be between a man and a woman.

According to The New York Times, 691,661 out of 1,129,979 voted for Nevada Question 2, which states that “marriage would be defined as couples, regardless of gender” at a 61.2 percent majority vote in favor of repealing the 2002 Amendment.

In the Obergefell v. Hodges 2015 case, the Supreme Court ruled the legalization of gay marriage across the country, but after Justice Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in, the 6-3 conservative majority could put that ruling at stake. With Nevada residents choosing to remove this ban, same-sex couples will be guaranteed protection no matter what decisions are made on the federal level.

This news provides hope for the future of same-sex couples, especially given that the majority of Americans are in favor of it. According to Gallup, 67 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage, an all-time high in the U.S.

Nevada’s ruling comes right in the midst of this heated election, for which the U.S. is still awaiting the results—Nevada being one of the last states to tally its votes. While we wait for more news coming out of the 2020 election, here's to hoping more states follow Nevada’s lead.

This story was originally published on November 5, 2020.