Same-sex marriage in Alaska

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Alaska since October 12, 2014, with an interruption from October 15 to 17 while state officials sought without success to delay the implementation of a federal court ruling. The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska held on October 12 in Hamby v. Parnell that Alaska's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriage violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution. On October 15, state officials obtained a two-day stay from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which the U.S. Supreme Court refused to extend on October 17. Although Alaska is one of a few states which enforces a three-day waiting period between requesting a marriage license and conducting a marriage ceremony, at least three same-sex couples had the waiting period waived immediately after the district court's ruling. They married in Utqiagvik and Ketchikan on October 13 and were the first same-sex couples to marry in Alaska.

Alaska had previously denied marriage rights to same-sex couples by statute since 1996 and in its State Constitution since 2004. Polling suggests that a majority of Alaskans support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, with a 2024 Public Religion Research Institute poll showing that 70% of respondents supported same-sex marriage.

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