Dawn Schmitz (L) and Holly Middleton (R) wait to apply for a marriage license at the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds office in Charlotte, North Carolina, October 13, 2014.
Dawn Schmitz (L) and Holly Middleton (R) wait to apply for a marriage license at the Mecklenburg County Register of Deeds office in Charlotte, North Carolina, October 13, 2014. REUTERS/Davis Turner REUTERS/Davis Turner

Same-sex marriages in six more states in the U.S. will now be recognised by the federal government. These states are Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, North Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Attorney General Eric Holder, who made the announcement, said the development likewise ensures that same-sex couples married in those states will "receive the fullest array of benefits allowable under federal law," including Social Security and veterans' benefits. The addition of the six states meant that the U.S. federal government now recognises gay marriage in 32 of its states, plus the District of Columbia.

As of Oct 15, 2014, there are 16 countries worldwide that have laws enabling same-sex marriages, including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Arica, Sweden, Uruguay, parts of Mexico, a majority of the U.S. and most of the U.K. The law in Luxembourg is set to be enforced in January 2015.

But Jimmy Carter, former U.S. president, believes legalising same-sex marriage should be better left to the decision of the states rather than being directed by the federal government. He said the states should be given that leeway to decide for itself if it will allow same-sex marriages or not, noting that the federal government does not have the right to "tell a church to marry people if the church doesn't want to." It's for the people to decide, he pointed out.

Various faith communities around the world allow same-sex marriage and wedding proceedings, including Buddhism in Australia, Church of Sweden, Conservative Judaism, U.S. Episcopalians. Humanistic Judaism, Native American religions with a 2-spirit tradition, Druids, the Metropolitan Community Church, Quakers, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reform Judaism, Unitarian Universalists, the United Church of Canada, the United Church of Christ and the Wiccans. Marriages of same-sex couples may be performed in a secular civil ceremony or in a religious setting.

Recognition for same-sex marriage still continues in other parts of the U.S., as with the case of two lesbian couples who filed lawsuits challenging Kansas' ban on gay marriage.

Apart from the six states, gay marriages performed in Indiana and Wisconsin, after federal courts declared state marriage bans unconstitutional, may also be legally recognised, according to Holder.