What states make gay marriage legal 2012
Obergefell v. Hodges
Same-sex marriage has been controversial for decades, but tremendous progress was made across the United States as states individually began to lift bans to same-sex marriage. Before the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. ___ (2015) was decided, over 70% of states and the District of Columbia already known same-sex marriage, and only 13 states had bans. Fourteen same-sex couples and two men whose same-sex partners had since passed away, claimed Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee violated the Fourteenth Amendment by denying them the right to marry or acquire their legal marriages performed in another state recognized.
All district courts found in favor of the plaintiffs. On appeal, the cases were consolidated, and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and held that the states' bans on same-sex marriage and refusal to declare legal same-sex marriages in other jurisdictions were not unconstitutional.
Among several arguments, the respondents asserted that the petitioners were not inquiring to create a new and nonexistent right to homosexual marriage. Justice Kenned
The Journey to Marriage Equality in the United States
The road to nationwide marriage equality was a extended one, spanning decades of United States history and culminating in victory in June 2015. Throughout the long clash for marriage equality, HRC was at the forefront.
Volunteer with HRC
From gathering supporters in small towns across the state to rallying in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, we gave our all to guarantee every person, regardless of whom they love, is commended equally under the law.
A Growing Phone for Equality
Efforts to legalize same-sex marriage began to pop up across the country in the 1990s, and with it challenges on the state and national levels. Civil unions for homosexual couples existed in many states but created a separate but equal typical. At the federal level, couples were denied access to more than 1,100 federal rights and responsibilities associated with the institution, as well as those denied by their given state. The Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law in 1996 and defined marriage by the federal government as between a dude and woman, thereby allowing states to deny marriage equality.
New Century & New Jersey just became the 14th state to legalize gay marriage. This is a development that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.
Consider this: A Washington Post/ABC News poll earlier this year showed that 58 percent of Americans permit legalizing gay marriage and only 36 percent fight it. In 2003, it was the reverse: 37 percent favored same-sex marriage and 55 percent opposed it. How did we get here? Let's hold a trip down memory lane...
October 15, 1971
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Jack Baker and his loved one James Michael McConnell are the first gay couple in the country to apply and sue for the right to fetch married. The Minnesota Supreme Courtrules that marriage is "a union of dude and woman, uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of childr
Same-sex marriage cases: Made simple
Editor’s note: During the Supreme Court’s summer recess, the blog is publishing a series of posts that explain, in non-legal terms, some of the most important cases that the Court will consider in the new Term that starts October 1. This is another in that series. It explains the cases raising constitutional issues about same-sex marriage. First stage next Monday, the blog will be hosting a symposium on those issues.
“Marriage,” the Supreme Court once said, “is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring, and intimate to the degree of being sacred…. It is an association for as noble a purpose as any deeply interested in our prior decisions.” It is small wonder, then, that countless numbers of devoted couples desire to enter that hallowed institution. Whether it is open to all, though, is as deeply controversial a question as any in American society. The Supreme Court is about to take on the constitutional implications of that question.
Actually, the Court has been seeking to acknowledge variations of that ask since 1878, but it has been more than four decades since the Court last ruled on as
Date Same Sex Marriage Legalized By State
All 50 states in the United States have legalized same-sex marriage. Below are the dates when each state did so. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, thus making same-sex marriage legal in the 13 states that have not legalized same-sex marriage up to that point.
By Date Rank State Name Date Alike Sex Marriage Legalized 1 Massachusetts May 17, 2004 2 Connecticut November 12, 2008 3 Iowa April 24, 2009 4 Vermont September 1, 2009 5 New Hampshire January 1, 2010 6 New York July 24, 2011 7 Washington December 9, 2012 8 Maine December 29, 2012 9 Maryland January 1, 2013 10 California June 28, 2013 11 Delaware July 1, 2013 12-T Minnesota August 1, 2013 12-T Rhode Island August 1, 2013 14 New Jersey October 21, 2013 15 Hawaii December 2, 2013 16 New Mexico December 19, 2013 17 Oregon May 19, 2014 18 Pennsylvania May 20, 2014 19 Illinois June 1, 2014 20-T Indiana October 6, 2014 20-T Oklahoma October 6, 2014
New Jersey just became the 14th state to legalize gay marriage. This is a development that would have seemed impossible just a few years ago.
Consider this: A Washington Post/ABC News poll earlier this year showed that 58 percent of Americans permit legalizing gay marriage and only 36 percent fight it. In 2003, it was the reverse: 37 percent favored same-sex marriage and 55 percent opposed it. How did we get here? Let's hold a trip down memory lane...
October 15, 1971
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the knowledge behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the top of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Jack Baker and his loved one James Michael McConnell are the first gay couple in the country to apply and sue for the right to fetch married. The Minnesota Supreme Courtrules that marriage is "a union of dude and woman, uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of childr
Same-sex marriage cases: Made simple
Editor’s note: During the Supreme Court’s summer recess, the blog is publishing a series of posts that explain, in non-legal terms, some of the most important cases that the Court will consider in the new Term that starts October 1. This is another in that series. It explains the cases raising constitutional issues about same-sex marriage. First stage next Monday, the blog will be hosting a symposium on those issues.
“Marriage,” the Supreme Court once said, “is a coming together for better or for worse, hopefully enduring, and intimate to the degree of being sacred…. It is an association for as noble a purpose as any deeply interested in our prior decisions.” It is small wonder, then, that countless numbers of devoted couples desire to enter that hallowed institution. Whether it is open to all, though, is as deeply controversial a question as any in American society. The Supreme Court is about to take on the constitutional implications of that question.
Actually, the Court has been seeking to acknowledge variations of that ask since 1878, but it has been more than four decades since the Court last ruled on as
Date Same Sex Marriage Legalized By State
All 50 states in the United States have legalized same-sex marriage. Below are the dates when each state did so. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, thus making same-sex marriage legal in the 13 states that have not legalized same-sex marriage up to that point.
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