Same-sex marriage in Arkansas

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Arkansas since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, striking down same-sex marriage bans nationwide. Previously, same-sex marriage was briefly legal in Arkansas for a period beginning on May 9, 2014, as a result of a ruling in Wright v. Arkansas by Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Chris Piazza striking down the state's constitutional and statutory bans on same-sex marriage as violating the U.S. Constitution. Approximately 541 same-sex couples received marriage licenses in several counties before the Arkansas Supreme Court stayed his ruling pending appeal on May 16, 2014. On November 25, 2014, Judge Kristine Baker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas struck down Arkansas' ban on same-sex marriage in Jernigan v. Crane. She stayed her ruling pending appeal. Following the Obergefell ruling, same-sex couples began obtaining marriage licenses in Arkansas and the appeal in Jernigan was dismissed by the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Arkansas had previously denied marriage rights to same-sex couples by statute since 1997 and in its State Constitution since 2004. Polling suggests that a narrow majority of Arkansas residents support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage, with a 2024 Public Religion Research Institute poll showing that 50% of respondents supported same-sex marriage.

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