Marriage Equality USA

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Current Status

  • Civil marriage equality in effect at the state level since 2014. (Same-sex couples may legally marry.)
  • 12 November 2014, in a victory for all LGBT families in Oklahoma, the state’s Supreme Court ruled that non-biological parents in a same-sex relationship can seek custody of children they raised based on an agreement to parent together.
  • Marriage law of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, a united tribe in Oklahoma, makes no specification of the gender of the participants. Based on that, Darren Black Bear and Jason Pickel applied for and received a marriage license on 18 October 2013. Theirs was the third such license issued by the Tribes.

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 

  • In 1975, the Oklahoma state legislature passed its first statute defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
  • In 1996, the Oklahoma state legislature passed its own Defense of Marriage act, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman and prohibited same-sex marriages from other states from being recognized in Oklahoma.
  • In April 2004, the Oklahoma legislature approved of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. In November 2004, Oklahoma voters approved Oklahoma Question 711, the constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage and prohibiting any "legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups".
  • In May 2012, the Oklahoma Senate passed SCR 62, a non-binding resolution reaffirming marriage between one man and one woman. 
  • In April 2013, the Oklahoma House of Representatives passed HCR 1009, a non-binding resolution reaffirming marriage between one man and one woman, and urging the Supreme Court to uphold DOMA and the right of states to regulate marriage. 
  • Oklahoma law does not address discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
  • The city of Norman has a policy that prohibits discrimination in employment for sexual orientation and gender identity, while the cities of Oklahoma City and Tulsa have policies that prohibit discrimination in employment for sexual orientation only.
  • 6 October 2014, the Supreme Court of the United States did not grant cert for any of 7 marriage cases from 5 states that had submitted petitions asking for review, including Oklahoma's case, Bishop v. Smith (see under LAWSUITS-RESOLVED below). This left the prior 10th Circuit Court of Appeals 18 July 2014 ruling standing as valid and legalized marriage equality in Oklahoma.

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