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Timeline

June 1, 1942
Skinner v. Oklahoma
The court says that depriving someone of the right to procreate or the right to marry is unconstitutional, and that marriage is "one of the basic civil rights".

October 1, 1948
Perez v. Sharp
The California Supreme Court, in a 4-to-3 decision, becomes the first court in U.S. history to strike down race restrictions on marriage. The court says that the freedom to marry is precious and important, and declares that "the essence of the right to marry is the right to join in marriage with the person of one's choice".

May 17, 1954
Brown v. Board of Education
The U.S. Supreme Court returns a momentous decision condemning "separate and unequal" segregation in the nation's schools.

June 7, 1965
Griswold v. Connecticut
The U.S. Supreme Court makes clear that in America, at least, marriage is based on choice and respect for the couple, not the government's agenda or religious doctrines about procreation.

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June 12, 1967

Loving v. Virginia
The Loving decision ends race discrimination in marriage by making it illegal to restrict interracial couples from marrying in the United States. The court also reaffirms marriage as a civil right by saying, "The freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men."

May 18, 1971
The first gay couple applies for a marriage license.
In the United States, individual lesbian and gay couples attempt to gain marriage equality ad hoc in the 1970s, when isolated couples apply for marriage licenses and occasionally follow up with lawsuits. These early lawsuits are roundly rejected.

June 1, 1987
Turner v. Safley
The Supreme Court unanimously strikes down a marriage ban on prisoners, even though incarceration might keep them from having sex with a spouse (and thus, in turn, prevent them from having biological children). The Court identifies four important "attributes" of marriage — public support for commitment, personal spiritual/religious meanings, sexual intimacy, and access to legal and economic safety-net. Significantly, the Supreme Court does not include conceiving or raising children is not a requirement, or even mentioned.

May 5, 1993
Baehr v. Lewin
Three same-sex couples sue Hawaii for marriage licenses. The Hawaii Supreme Court rules that the government must show a sufficient reason for excluding these couples from marriage, or stop discriminating. Following a full trial, Judge Kevin Chang rules in 1996 that there is no good reason for denying marriage to committed same-sex couples, who "share the same mix of reasons" for wanting marriage as non-gay couples. A constitutional amendment later blocks the courts from doing their job and ending the marriage discrimination, but the Hawaii case launches the ongoing national conversation about marriage equality.

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September 21, 1996
The Defense of Marriage Act
U.S. Congress passes a federal so-called "Defense of Marriage Act" (DOMA) defining marriage in federal law as a union of one man and one woman. DOMA allows individual states to legalize gay and lesbian marriages, but says the federal government would not recognize such unions, nor must states opposed to them. This discriminatory piece of legislation also allows states to refuse to honor lawful gay and lesbian marriages performed in another state.

December 3, 1996
Baehr v. Miike
The courts ruled that application of Hawaii Revised Statute 572-1 to deny a marriage contract to same-sex partners violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Hawaii Constitution, and was therefore invalid. Judge Chang held that the state Department of Health's use of 572-1 did establish a sex-based classification, which denied gay and lesbian couples the rights and privileges accorded to non-gay couples. Therefore, the circuit court ruled the sex-based classification in 572-1 unconstitutional under the Equal Protection Clause of Article I, section 5 of the Hawaii Constitution. However, Judge Chang stayed enforcement of the judgment pending the state's appeal to the Hawaii Supreme Court.

December 20, 1999
Baker v. State of Vermont
The Vermont Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights as different-sex married couples.

July 21, 2000
Civil unions begin in Vermont
The Vermont legislature responds with a step in the right direction, but falls short of equality by establishing civil unions, a separate legal status, rather than marriage itself.

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April 1, 2001
Netherlands ends discrimination in marriage against same-sex couples
The Netherlands becomes the first country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage, giving such couples exactly the same rights as opposite-sex couples, including in tax, inheritance and adoption rights. The law requires that at least one member of the couple be a Dutch national or live in the Netherlands.

April 11, 2001
Goodridge v. Department of Public Health
Seven same-sex couples in Massachusetts who were denied marriage licenses file a suit seeking the freedom to marry.

June 10, 2003
Ontario, Canada establishes marriage equality
Ontario, Canada, ends discrimination in marriage for same-sex couples in that province.

June 26, 2003

Lawrence v. Texas
In a landmark 6-3 decision written by a Reagan appointee, the U.S. Supreme Court holds that the Constitution provides deep protection for decision regarding family, intimacy, love, and, yes, sex—and that gay people share equally in the right to make these important personal life-defining decisions. The case strikes down so-called "sodomy" laws nationwide, and holds that majority or government "moral disapproval" is not a sufficient basis for infringing Americans' freedom. Even dissenting Justice Antonin Scalia concedes that the Court's language and logic leaves "on pretty shaky grounds state laws limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples."

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November 18, 2003
Massachusetts High Court rules for marriage equality
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules in Goodridge that the state constitution mandates marriage equality for same-sex couples. Three months later, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reaffirms its decision in another opinion, informing lawmakers that only marriage rights — not separate mechanisms such as civil unions — provide equal protection constitution to same-sex couples.

February 12, 2004
San Francisco issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom orders the issuance of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, saying state statutes purporting to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples violate the California Constitution's mandate of equal protection. Within days, more than 2,000 same-sex couples receive marriage licenses and are married. The California Supreme Court later invalidated those marriages as unauthorized by state law. A legal challenge is filed.

April 15, 2004
Spanish incoming Prime Minister promises marriage equality
Incoming Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announces that Spain will end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and grant equal rights to same-sex couples.

May 17, 2004
Same-sex couples marry in Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts, begins accepting applications for marriage licenses from same-sex couples — making Massachusetts the first state in the nation to grant marriage licenses statewide. On just the first day more than 600 couples apply for licenses across Massachusetts. All seven plaintiff couples in Goodridge, including Hilary and Julie Goodridge, marry. Not coincidentally, this is the fiftieth anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down segregation.

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September 6, 2005
California Legislature passes historic marriage bill, first state in country to do so
California's Legislature becomes the first in the United States to pass a bill ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. "There are a handful of issues where history will record where we were. This is one of them," said Thomas J. Umberg (D-Anaheim).

September 29, 2005
California Governor vetoes marriage equality bill
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes the landmark bill that would have given same-sex couples in the nation's largest state the right to marry.

December 1, 2005
South African high court rules in favor of marriage equality
The highest court in South Africa rules that denial of marriage equality to same-sex couples violates the South Africa Constitution and gives the Legislature a year to amend the marriage statutes to include same-sex couples.

January 20, 2006
Maryland's marriage discrimination ruled unconstitutional by trial court, appealed to state's highest court
Maryland's marriage discrimination against same-sex couples is struck down as unconstitutional by a Maryland trial court judge. The decision is stayed pending an appeal to the state's highest court.

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September 29, 2006
Massachusetts court rules Rhode Island same-sex couples can marry in Massachusetts
A Massachusetts trial court rules that same-sex couples from Rhode Island can marry in Massachusetts.

October 5, 2006
California's highest court to hear case to end marriage discrimination
The California case to end marriage discrimination is sent to the state Supreme Court.

October 25, 2006
New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously rules same-sex couples deserve the same rights and responsibilities of marriage, but fails to require full equality in marriage
The New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously holds that same-sex couples are entitled to all of the state-level spousal rights and responsibilities (the first such unanimous high court ruling). The court deferred to the Legislature on the question of how to extend these rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples: either by permitting couples to marry or by creating a separate legal status such as civil unions. A month later, the Legislature also fails to provide full equality in marriage, and establishes civil unions, not marriage, in New Jersey for same-sex couples.

November 7, 2006
Arizona citizens are the first to defeat an anti-marriage state constitutional amendment
Arizona becomes the first state to reject at the ballot box an anti-marriage state constitutional amendment.

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December 4, 2006
Maryland's highest court hears arguments for marriage equality
Maryland's highest court hears oral arguments in Deane & Polyak v. Conaway, a case concerning whether the state should end discrimination in marriage against same-sex couples.

April 12, 2007
Connecticut Joint Legislative Committee passes marriage bill
The Connecticut Legislature's Joint Judiciary Committee, by a vote of 27 to 15, passed a marriage equality bill and sent it to the full House.

April 27, 2007
New York Gov. introduces marriage equality bill
"This legislation would create equal legal protection and responsibilities for all individuals who seek to marry or have their marriage protected in the state of New York," Spitzer said in a statement announcing his action. "Strong, stable families are the cornerstones of our society. The responsibilities inherent in the institution of marriage benefit those individuals and society as a whole." Governor Spitzer is the first governor in the nation to introduce such legislation.

May 14, 2007
Connecticut's highest court hears arguments for marriage equality
Connecticut's highest court hears oral arguments in Kerrigan & Mock v. Connecticut Department of Public Health, a case to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage.

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January-June, 2007
In 2007, a record number of marriage equality bills (11) were introduced.
Along with the record number of bills to end marriage discrimination in 11 states, bills to create "civil union" or "partnership" as an interim step toward marriage equality advanced in states as diverse as Oregon, Illinois, New Mexico, Washington, and New Hampshire — all products of the work to win marriage itself.

August 30, 2007
An Iowa trial court struck down the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage.
The court found that the denial of marriage harms couples and their kids, while helping no one and serving no legitimate government interest. Read the decision here.

May 15, 2008
The California Supreme Court ruled in In Re: Marriage Cases to uphold the freedom to marry in California.
California’s highest court determines that "limiting the designation of marriage to a union 'between a man and a woman' is unconstitutional and must be stricken from the statute, and that the remaining statutory language must be understood as making the designation of marriage available both to opposite-sex and same-sex couples." At the same time, an anti-marriage initiative which qualified for the November 2008 ballot is proposing to take away equality and fairness in California and write marriage discrimination into the state constitution.

May 2008
NY Gov. David Paterson directs state agencies to ensure that the out-of-state marriages of same-sex couples are respected and treated equally under law.
Gov. Paterson's order conforms to NY's historic practice and the common-sense principle that it makes more sense to respect marriages than to destabilize them.  But couples cannot, as yet, marry at home in New York.

June 11, 2008
Members of Parliament in Norway approved a bill that ended the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage by 84 votes to 41.
The Scandinavian country had already allowed gay and lesbian couples to enter into civil partnerships, but realized that such partnerships did not provide equality.  The law was backed by the ruling red-green coalition of the Labour Party, the Centre Party and the Socialist Left Party as well as members of the opposition Conservatives and Liberals.

June 16, 2008
Marriage equality goes into effect in California.
At 5pm, same-sex couples can receive marriage licenses from the state of California.

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While we talk about marriage, families, and fairness, we must move forward in every state on a host of fronts, including partnership ordinances and company policies, local non-discrimination laws, and more highlighting of the experiences of our kids and seniors. Done right — that is, without undercutting our claim to marriage itself — it all helps bring marriage equality closer. While always being authentic and clear about why marriage matters, we can push for policies and laws that either will overcome or circumvent the invidious constitutional amendments or, by running afoul of them, help people understand how cruel and wrong the amendments are. We will stoke buyers' remorse on the part of those who were forced to vote up or down on something hard before we'd had the chance to give them the information they deserved and the time they needed to get it right. And then we'll bring that discrimination down.

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