Title: History of same-sex marriage in the United States - Wikipedia
Headings: History of same-sex marriage in the United States
History of same-sex marriage in the United States
Contents
Early years
Activist debate
Hawaii and reaction
Lawrence v. Texas
Massachusetts and reactions
2008
Decision and reversal in California
Court ruling: Connecticut
National political parties
2009
Court decision: Iowa
Legislation: Vermont, New Hampshire, District of Columbia
Enactment and reversal in Maine
Respect for Marriage Act
2010
2011
Legislation: New York
2012
Legislation: Washington, Maryland
National politics
Balloting results
2013
United States v. Windsor
Court rulings: California, New Jersey, New Mexico
State legislation: Rhode Island, Delaware, Minnesota, Hawaii, Illinois
Utah court ruling and subsequent stay
2014
Court decisions: Oregon and Pennsylvania
Louisiana ban upheld
U.S. Supreme Court declines cases
States with cases at issue: Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah
Other states in the affected circuits: Colorado, West Virginia, North Carolina, Wyoming, South Carolina, Kansas
Ninth Circuit decision
States with cases at issue
Other states in the Ninth Circuit: Alaska, Arizona, and Montana
Sixth Circuit decision
In Ohio
In Tennessee
Decisions being appealed: Arkansas, Mississippi, and Missouri
2014–2015
Florida
U.S. Supreme Court accepts cases
Alabama
Guam
Obergefell v. Hodges
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links

Content: History of same-sex marriage in the United States - Wikipedia
History of same-sex marriage in the United States
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The history of same-sex marriage in the United States dates from the early 1970s, when the first lawsuits seeking legal recognition of same-sex relationships brought the question of civil marriage rights and benefits for same-sex couples to public attention though they proved unsuccessful. The subject became increasingly prominent in U.S. politics following the 1993 Hawaii Supreme Court decision in Baehr v. Miike that suggested the possibility that the state's prohibition might be unconstitutional. That decision was met by actions at both the federal and state level to restrict marriage to male-female couples, notably the enactment at the federal level of the Defense of Marriage Act . The first legal same-sex marriage ceremony in the United States happened on February 12, 2004, when mayor of San Francisco Gavin Newsom ordered city hall to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. This decision resulted in the celebration of the first gay marriage in the United States, when Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon became the first gay couple to tie the knot and get official recognition of their fifty year relationship (Marriage Equality New York). On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state and the sixth jurisdiction in the world to legalize same-sex marriage following the Supreme Judicial Court 's decision in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health six months earlier. Just as with the Hawaii decision, the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts provoked a reaction from opponents of same-sex marriage that resulted in further legal restrictions being written into state statutes and constitutions. The movement to obtain marriage rights for same-sex couples expanded steadily from that time until in late 2014 lawsuits had been brought in every state that still denied marriage licenses to same-sex couples. By late 2014, same-sex marriage had become legal in states that contained more than 70% of the United States population. In some jurisdictions legalization came through the action of state courts or the enactment of state legislation.