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If it is clear from the context that we are referring to USA, we might simply say

Many states have deserts/laws against gay marriage/more men than women.

But if it is not clear, and I prefer not to say something awkward like "Many states in the United States", can I say instead:

Many of the United States have deserts/laws against gay marriage/more men than women.

RegDwigнt
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    No, you can't, because the United States is an established "collective" term used to reference the nation as a single country. It would be much the same problem if you said Some of the British Isles are uninhabited. Such "multi-part" names behave as a unit - you can't just reference one word within the unit and treat it as a single entity. – FumbleFingers Oct 05 '13 at 16:05
  • ...since the full name in your case is the United States of America*, I suggest you just go with many American states...* – FumbleFingers Oct 05 '13 at 16:06
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    But then again there might be a risk of confusion. "Many American states" might mean states in the US, but it might also mean nation-states in the Americas. –  Oct 05 '13 at 16:21
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    @ Kenny LJ: There are apparently over 20 million books in the Google Books corpus. But frankly I'd be surprised if you could find a single instance of many American states from the past century where it didn't refer to states within the USA. – FumbleFingers Oct 05 '13 at 16:27
  • Why not "many states of the USA", instead of using the full-form? – mikhailcazi Oct 05 '13 at 16:36
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    @FumbleFingers: The Organization of American States might beg to differ. – Nate Eldredge Oct 05 '13 at 18:00
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    @FumbleFingers: I would tend to prefer "many U.S. states", which is unambiguous. According to this ngram, this has been the majority opinion for about the last 15 years. – Nate Eldredge Oct 05 '13 at 18:08
  • @FumbleFingers: the use of the plural "these United States" was once more common. I would have said that it was largely out of use now, but in searching for a reference I found this article which suggests it may be coming back into use, at least in Presidential speeches. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/05/these-united-states-how-obamas-vocal-tic-reveals-a-polarized-america/275739/ – Wayne Johnston Oct 05 '13 at 18:43
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    I surprised myself by responding mentally to this question with "Sure. Why not?" It didn't sound strange to me at all. And, really, I don't think it is incorrect. But, okay, I accept what seems to be the majority opinion as stated nicely by FF, and further suggest that another good way around the problem would be to use "many states in the U.S." – John M. Landsberg Oct 05 '13 at 19:44

2 Answers2

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I am not sure whether many of the United States would actually be incorrect, but it would certainly be unusual, and I expect it would take your readers a moment or two to figure out what you meant.

I would suggest many U.S. states instead.

Nate Eldredge
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I would suggest using many states within the USA.

[Coincidentally, just before reading this question, I had had to address the same question elsewhere, and that is the expression I used.]

TrevorD
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