581,300

Estimated gay couples in the United States as of 2009.

6

U.S. jurisdictions that currently allow gay marriage: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

6

States that give benefits to same-sex couples under a different label like “civil union” or domestic partnership: California, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington, Illinois.

29

States with constitutional amendments banning gay marriage. Georgia passed a constitutional gay marriage ban in 2004.

28

Nations that grant more rights to same-sex couples than the United States, ranging from marriage to domestic partner recognition.