Current Status

• Civil marriage equality is legal at the territory level, via the Supreme Court of the United States, as of 26 June 2015. (Same-sex couples have the legal right to marry.)
• 27 July 2015, Mayor Apatang officiates first same-sex marriage on Saipan - By Junhan B. Todiño, Marianas Variety
• 30 June 2015, Inos on same-sex ruling: Marriage is celebration of love - By Cherrie Anne E. Villahermosa, Marianas Variety
• On 26 June 2015, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled FOR marriage equality and that same-gender couples have the constitutional right to marry in all 50 states and all U.S. territories.
  • MARRIAGE EQUALITY FAQ
  • If a marriage license is refused to you, please contact one of the following legal organizations immediately!
    • ACLU
      https://www.aclu.org/about/affiliates?redirect=affiliates
      212.549.2500 
    • GLAD
      http://www.GLADAnswers.org/
      617.426.1350
    • Lambda Legal
      http://www.lambdalegal.org/marriage-equality-tracker
      212.809.8585
    • NCLR
      http://www.nclrights.org/legal-help
      415.392.6257 

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

• Under U.S. administration as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific, in the 1970's the people of the Northern Mariana Islands decided to forge closer ties to the U.S. rather than to seek independence. Negotiations for territorial status began in 1972. A covenant to establish a commonwealth in political union with the U.S. was approved in 1975. A new government and constitution went into effect in 1978. The Marianas are self-governing with a locally elected governor, lieutenant governor and legislature. The United States government handles defense and foreign relations. Local residents are U.S. citizens by birth, but do not pay federal taxes or vote in the presidential elections; instead, they elect a non-voting representative to the U.S. government.
• Following the 2013 SCOTUS ruling in United States v. Windsor, both the IRS and the Department of Labor (DOL) wrote that for their purposes the term "spouse" refers to any individual who is lawfully married under any state law, including individuals married to a person of the same sex who were legally married in a state that recognizes such marriages, but who are domiciled in a state that does not recognize such marriages. This applies to the Northern Mariana Islands.