Civil Unions

On June 3, 2009, the State legislature enacted House Bill Number 436, which eliminates the exclusion of same gender couples from marriage, affirms religious freedom protections of clergy with regard to the solemnization of marriage, and provides a mechanism by which same gender couples who have entered into a civil union prior to the enactment of this bill may obtain the legal status of marriage.  Please click the following link to read the full text of this House Bill, which took effect on January 1, 2010: HB436-FN.

what needs to happen for a civil union to be afforded the legal status of marriage?

The State Bureau of Vital Records has converted all previous Civil Unions into Marriages effective January 1, 2011. The new date of ceremony was identified as January 1, 2011, if a conversion was not requested prior to January 1, 2011.