One state where the recent domino effect has been measurable is Hawaii. A same-sex marriage bill failed in the Senate but by a far narrower margin than previous votes, and efforts are underway to tinker with the wording to win majority acceptance.
Gay rights proponents credit the change in public and political attitudes to the state’s adoption a dozen years ago of a “reciprocal beneficiaries” policy, allowing any two people who can’t be legally married — gay couples, blood relatives — to designate each other as beneficiary of all rights and responsibilities accorded married couples.
Though still few in number, the states recognizing same-sex unions are home to nearly a third of the U.S. population, said Gary Gates, senior research fellow at the Williams Institute. He estimates that at least a quarter of the 780,000 same-sex couples married or registered in civil unions across the country are raising children, boosting the likelihood of legal challenges to secure equal protection from insurers, employers and the government for their families.