History of same-sex marriage in the United States
[1] 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.
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.
Others raised the tactical objection that a step-by step campaign that focused on near-term potential victories like anti-discrimination statutes stood a greater chance of long term success.
[citation needed] In 1989, as a contribution to this debate, Andrew Sullivan's essay "Here Comes the Groom: A (Conservative) Case for Gay Marriage" appeared in The New Republic.
[15] In late 1993, Bruce Bawer in A Place at the Table contended using traditional moral arguments that same-sex relationships merit legal and religious recognition as marriages.
[17] The Hawaii case of Baehr v. Miike attracted national attention when the Hawaii Supreme Court on May 5, 1993, ordered a trial court to consider whether the state could demonstrate that denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples "furthers compelling state interests and is narrowly drawn to avoid unnecessary abridgments of constitutional rights.
[25] Massachusetts became the first United States jurisdiction to license and recognize same-sex marriages beginning May 17, 2004 after Chief Justice Margaret Marshall wrote the majority opinion in the court ruling.
[26][27] In February and March 2004, city officials in San Francisco issued marriage licenses to about 4000 same-sex couples before being ordered to stop by the California Supreme Court.
On November 2, 2004, voters in eleven states—Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Utah—approved state constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.
[73][d] In the regular November 2012 elections, voters for the first time approved the legalization of same-sex marriage by popular vote in three states: Maine, Maryland, and Washington.
[79][f] On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 5–4 decision in United States v. Windsor, ruling Section 3 of DOMA unconstitutional "as a deprivation of the equal liberty ... protected by the Fifth Amendment.
It reasoned that with the U.S. Supreme Court's recent action in United States v. Windsor, couples in New Jersey civil unions lacked access to federal benefits they could now receive if married.
[87] Eight New Mexico counties, either on the basis of a court decision or their clerks' own volition, began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in August 2013.
[102] On May 19, 2014, U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane ruled in Geiger v. Kitzhaber that Oregon's voter-approved constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
[130] In Colorado, Attorney General John Suthers asked the Tenth Circuit to dismiss his appeal and lift its stay in Burns v. Hickenlooper.
[131][p] In West Virginia, on October 9, Governor Ray Tomblin announced he was ordering state agencies to act in compliance with the decision of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in ''Bostic v Schaefer'' on the unconstitutionality of same-sex marriage bans.
[139][q] As of February 2015, Kansas remains the only state in the circuits affected by the Supreme Court's October 6 refusal to grant cert to continue to enforce in large measure its denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples.
Some began doing so based on their reading of Tenth Circuit precedent, others a few weeks later on the basis on a ruling against Kansas' ban on same-sex marriage issued on November 4, 2014, by U.S. District Judge Daniel D. Crabtree in Marie v. Moser,[142] following Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt's failure to win a stay of that ruling from the Tenth Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
[151] On November 6, 2014, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, in a 2-1 decision, upheld the same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee.
[162] Hundreds of same-sex couples obtained marriage licenses and some married in Michigan on the morning of March 22 before the appeals court temporarily stayed enforcement of the ruling.
[163] On January 15, 2015, U.S. District Judge Mark A. Goldsmith ruled in Caspar v. Snyder that Michigan must recognize the validity of more than 300 marriages of same-sex couples married the previous March in the time between a district court found the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals stayed that ruling.
[167] St. Louis County, where an official said "We believe it's a county-by-county decision",[168] began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples the next day.
[170] In Jackson County, which includes Kansas City, officials began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples the same day.
[171] On November 25, 2014, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker struck down Arkansas' ban on same-sex marriage in Jernigan v. Crane, and she stayed enforcement of her ruling pending appeal.
[174] U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle, ruling in Brenner v. Scott, had found Florida's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional on August 21, 2014, and stayed enforcement pending further appeals.
[180] On January 16, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear four cases on appeal from the Sixth Circuit, consolidating them as one and setting a briefing schedule to be completed April 17.
[181] Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the Department of Justice would file an amicus brief in the case asking the court to "make marriage equality a reality for all Americans".
[187][188] On January 27, Judge Granade ruled in a second lawsuit, Strawser v. Strange in favor of a male couple seeking the right to marry on Alabama.
[191][192] On March 3, 2015, the Alabama Supreme Court ordered all counties in the state to stop issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
[199] In December 2022, the final version of the bill Respect for Marriage Act divided American religious groups morally opposed to same-sex marriage;[200] it was supported by some as a suitable compromise between the rights of LGBT couples and religious liberty,[201] a position that was taken by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,[202] but was prominently opposed by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Southern Baptist Convention due to their views on sexual ethics.
