On Monday morning, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the review of all seven petitions arising from challenges to state bans on same-sex marriage. This means that Supreme Court has opened marriage to gay and lesbian couples in five states, including neighboring Indiana and Wisconsin. Our panel examines why the Court decided against taking up the issue, how the country will continue to define marriage in a patchwork, state-by-state way, and whether the Court will eventually take a case in the future.

Same-sex couples have the freedom to marry in 25 states and Washington, D.C., according to Freedom to Marry. Federal appellate rulings have set a binding precedent in favor of the freedom to marry in Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wyoming. In an additional 11 states—Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kentucky, Michigan, Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee—judges have issued rulings in favor of the freedom to marry; many of these rulings have been stayed as they proceed to the appellate courts.

View a map detailing the status of same-sex marriage in the United States. Hover over a state to learn about same-sex marriage’s status in that state.

--Map by Kristen Thometz.