Advocates hope neighbouring states will follow suit
On Friday New York became the seventh, and largest state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage. Gay rights groups hope this landmark moment will give way to many others, as advocates in neighbouring states lobby for similar legal reform. Same-sex marriage is now legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island. The state’s new law will go into effect next month, at which point twice as many Americans will live in gay-marriage friendly jurisdictions. Marriage reform across the country, however, may not come so easy, as 29 states have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage and 12 have laws against it.