Just in time for Valentine's Day, many gay and lesbian couples in Alabama late last week were taking the ultimate commitment step by saying "I do."
The ability to exchange wedding vows with distinctly Southern drawls was made possible by a federal court ruling. The battle, however, continues in Alabama; the state's supreme court is expected to weigh in next week. At the national level, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule on the legality of same-sex marriages this summer.
On this day special to lovers, however, there are 38 U.S. jurisdictions where same-sex couples can marry. And on this most romantic of days, 38 definitely earns this week's By the Numbers honor.
States where Same-Sex Couples can be Married
Updated Feb. 6, 2015, by FreedomToMarry.com
**Missouri recognizes marries legally performed in other states.
Click image to go to interactive map for specifics on your state's marriage equality laws.
In case you don't want to count the locations on the map, the 38 places where there are no gender-related legal barriers to saying I do are: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming and the District of Columbia.
Love, marriage, tax filing: I've blogged before about what marriage means to your taxes. I won't take up any more of your and my time repeating it here; we've all got better ways to spend Feb. 14.
But I will share the links to some of those posts so when the hearts and flowers and chocolates aren't taking center stage, you can check them out.
- IRS grants same-sex married couples equal federal tax filing status
- Tax tips for same-sex married couples new to filing together
- Wedded tax bliss
- Tax issues faced by same-sex couples
- Cupid says to note year-end marital status
- Valentine's Day tax tips and tidbits
- Tax to-do's after saying 'I do'
- Valentine's Day: Love and Taxes
- Calculating your possible marriage tax penalty or bonus
- A marriage tax penalty or marriage tax bonus calculator
- 6 tax tips for Kim Kardashian and other newlyweds
- I love you honey, but not your tax return
- Married couples filing joint returns share all tax liability, too
- Missouri recognizes same-sex marriages for state tax filing only
- Federal filing hassles eased, but same-sex married couples now must cope with state tax returns
- Many marriage and divorce tax issues, regardless of couple's gender
- Tax tips for the day after Valentine's Day
Wow! I didn't realize I was such a tax romantic.
For the rest of today, though, I'm taking taxes out of the equation and spending time with the hubby. We both wish you and your sweetheart a wonderful Valentine's Day.
