SAME-SEX MARRIAGE HISTORY
1969
A mass protest in New York against a police raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar, launches the gay rights movement.
1972
The U.S. Supreme Court dismisses a challenge to a Minnesota court’s ruling that there is no legal provision for same-sex marriage.
1973
Maryland is the first state to pass a statutory ban on same-sex marriage.
1986
The U.S. Supreme Court in a Georgia case upholds laws against sodomy, even between consenting adults in private.
1993
The Hawaii Supreme Court rules against a gay marriage ban. Voters later approve a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage.
1996
Congress passes, and President Bill Clinton signs, the Defense of Marriage Act, denying marriage rights under federal law to same-sex couples.
2000
Vermont is the first state to allow same-sex civil unions.
2003
In a Texas case, the Supreme Court reverses its 1986 sodomy ruling. The Massachusetts Supreme Court rules in favor of same-sex marriage, which becomes legal in the state the following year.
2004
San Francisco’s mayor, defying a California ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional, orders the issuance of wedding licenses to same-sex couples until the state Supreme Court rules that he has exceeded his authority.
2005
California legislators pass a bill allowing gay marriage, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes it.
2006
New Jersey adopts civil unions after the state Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights as heterosexual couples.
2008
The Connecticut Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples may marry.
The California Supreme Court strikes down the state’s gay marriage ban, and same-sex weddings begin. They are halted after voters in November approve Proposition 8, adding an amendment against gay marriage to the state constitution.
2009
The Iowa Supreme Court strikes down a gay marriage ban. Legislatures in New Hampshire and Vermont and the District of Columbia council pass laws permitting same-sex marriage.
2011
The New York Legislature legalizes gay marriage. For the first time since it began tracking attitudes toward gay marriage in 1996, Gallup finds the majority of Americans favor it.
2012
Voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington approve same-sex marriage.
Gov. Chris Christie vetoes a bill that would allow same-sex marriages in New Jersey.
President Barack Obama expresses support for gay marriage.
Wednesday
The Supreme Court rules 5-4 that same-sex couples have the right to the same federal benefits as heterosexual married couples.
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