Year supreme court passed gay marriage
What the Same Sex Marriage Bill Does and Doesn't Do
The U.S. Senate passed landmark legislation this week enshrining protections for identical sex and interracial marriages in federal law in a bipartisan vote that marked a dramatic turnaround on a once highly divisive issue.
The Senate action marks a major hurdle for the legislation, which President Biden has said he will autograph into law pending a vote in the Property of Representatives.
Leonore F. Carpenter, a Rutgers Law School professor who has served as an LGBTQA rights attorney, explains what the Respect for Marriage Act accomplishes, and what is does not.
What exactly does the Respect for Marriage Proceed do to protect queer marriage?
The Act does a few important things.
First, it repeals the federal Defense of Marriage Act. That law was passed in 1996, and it prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages that had been validly entered into under a state’s law. It also gave the green light to states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
Next, it prohibits states from refusing to recognize same-sex marriages that are validly entered into in a diverse state. It’s also impo
The Journey to Marriage Equality in the Joined States
The road to nationwide marriage equality was a long one, spanning decades of United States history and culminating in victory in June 2015. Throughout the long struggle for marriage equality, HRC was at the forefront.
Volunteer with HRC
From gathering supporters in small towns across the country to rallying in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, we gave our all to confirm every person, regardless of whom they love, is recognized equally under the law.
A Growing Call for Equality
Efforts to legalize queer marriage began to pop up across the land in the 1990s, and with it challenges on the state and national levels. Civil unions for same-sex couples existed in many states but created a separate but same standard. 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 male and woman, thereby allowing states to deny marriage equality.
New Century &
A decade after the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, marriage equality endures risky terrain
Milestones — especially in decades — usually call for celebration. The 10th anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, is different. There’s a sense of unease as state and federal lawmakers, as well as several judges, take steps that could convey the issue assist to the Supreme Court, which could undermine or overturn existing and future same-sex marriages and weaken additional anti-discrimination protections.
In its nearly quarter century of existence, the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Regulation has been on the front lines of LGBTQ rights. Its amicus short in the Obergefell case was instrumental, with Justice Anthony Kennedy citing facts from the institute on the number of same-sex couples raising children as a deciding factor in the landmark decision.
“There were claims that allowing queer couples to wed would somehow devalue or diminish marriage for everyone, including different-sex couples,” said Brad Sears, a distinguished senior scholar of law and policy at the Williams Institute. &
Quick Hits
- June 26, 2025, marked the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s conclusion recognizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
- The Obergefell v. Hodges conclusion had important legal implications for employers’ benefit plans.
- Existing federal law bans discrimination in hiring and firing on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, while twenty-two states and Washington, D.C., also have laws banning workplace discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Ten years ago, the Supreme Court decided in Obergefell v. Hodges to give all gay couples in the Merged States the right to marry. The case arose from challenges to Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee laws that banned gay marriages and refused to recognize legally valid lgbtq+ marriages performed in other states.
The Court answered two questions. First, does the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment require states to license a marriage between two people of the similar sex? Second, does the Constitution require a mention to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was licensed lawfully in a diverse state?
On June 26, 2015, t
Some Republican lawmakers amplify calls against homosexual marriage SCOTUS ruling
Conservative legislators are increasingly speaking out against the Supreme Court’s landmark 2015 verdict on same-sex marriage equality.
Idaho legislators began the trend in January when the state House and Senate passed a resolution calling on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision -- which the court cannot do unless presented with a case on the issue. Some Republican lawmakers in at least four other states like Michigan, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota own followed suit with calls to the Supreme Court.
In North Dakota, the resolution passed the express House with a vote of 52-40 and is headed to the Senate. In South Dakota, the state’s Property Judiciary Committee sent the proposal on the 41st Legislative Day –deferring the bill to the final day of a legislative session, when it will no longer be considered, and effectively killing the bill.
In Montana and Michigan, the bills contain yet to meet legislative scrutiny.
Resolutions hold no legal leadership and are not binding law, but instead allow legislative bodies to communicate their collective opinions.
The resolutions in four other states ech
A decade after the Supreme Court’s Obergefell decision, marriage equality endures risky terrain
Milestones — especially in decades — usually call for celebration. The 10th anniversary of Obergefell v. Hodges, the Supreme Court case that made same-sex marriage legal nationwide, is different. There’s a sense of unease as state and federal lawmakers, as well as several judges, take steps that could convey the issue assist to the Supreme Court, which could undermine or overturn existing and future same-sex marriages and weaken additional anti-discrimination protections.
In its nearly quarter century of existence, the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Regulation has been on the front lines of LGBTQ rights. Its amicus short in the Obergefell case was instrumental, with Justice Anthony Kennedy citing facts from the institute on the number of same-sex couples raising children as a deciding factor in the landmark decision.
“There were claims that allowing queer couples to wed would somehow devalue or diminish marriage for everyone, including different-sex couples,” said Brad Sears, a distinguished senior scholar of law and policy at the Williams Institute. &
Quick Hits
- June 26, 2025, marked the tenth anniversary of the Supreme Court’s conclusion recognizing same-sex marriage nationwide.
- The Obergefell v. Hodges conclusion had important legal implications for employers’ benefit plans.
- Existing federal law bans discrimination in hiring and firing on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation, while twenty-two states and Washington, D.C., also have laws banning workplace discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation or gender identity.
Ten years ago, the Supreme Court decided in Obergefell v. Hodges to give all gay couples in the Merged States the right to marry. The case arose from challenges to Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, and Tennessee laws that banned gay marriages and refused to recognize legally valid lgbtq+ marriages performed in other states.
The Court answered two questions. First, does the U.S. Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment require states to license a marriage between two people of the similar sex? Second, does the Constitution require a mention to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was licensed lawfully in a diverse state?
On June 26, 2015, t
Some Republican lawmakers amplify calls against homosexual marriage SCOTUS ruling
Conservative legislators are increasingly speaking out against the Supreme Court’s landmark 2015 verdict on same-sex marriage equality.
Idaho legislators began the trend in January when the state House and Senate passed a resolution calling on the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision -- which the court cannot do unless presented with a case on the issue. Some Republican lawmakers in at least four other states like Michigan, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota own followed suit with calls to the Supreme Court.
In North Dakota, the resolution passed the express House with a vote of 52-40 and is headed to the Senate. In South Dakota, the state’s Property Judiciary Committee sent the proposal on the 41st Legislative Day –deferring the bill to the final day of a legislative session, when it will no longer be considered, and effectively killing the bill.
In Montana and Michigan, the bills contain yet to meet legislative scrutiny.
Resolutions hold no legal leadership and are not binding law, but instead allow legislative bodies to communicate their collective opinions.
The resolutions in four other states ech