State laws and referendums on same-sex marriage continue to make headlines across the country. A law in Washington State legalizing same-sex marriage takes effect June 7, but opponents are collecting signatures to put a referendum on the November ballot to overturn the law, according to the Associated Press. Maryland legalized same-sex marriage in February, and the law is scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2013. But opponents in Maryland say they have gathered enough signatures to put a referendum challenging the law on the November ballot, the Washington Post reported. Meanwhile, voters in North Carolina on May 8 approved an amendment to their state constitution banning same-sex marriage, as Reuters reported. A similar state constitutional ban will be on the ballot in Minnesota in November, CNN reported.

Explore Pew Forum resources on the same-sex marriage debate, including a series of graphics that shows how public opinion on gay marriage has changed in Pew Research Center polls since 2001.