Key Dates in the Quest for Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
1993:The Hawaii Supreme Court rules that prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying may violate the Hawaii Constitution’s ban on sex discrimination and can only be upheld if prohibition is justified by a compelling reason.
1996:The Hawaii trial court rules that prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying is not justified and that the plaintiff couples should therefore be allowed to marry. The case heads back to the Hawaii Supreme Court.
1996:Congress passes, and President Clinton signs, the Defense of Marriage Act.
1998:Before the Hawaii Supreme Court can issue final ruling, voters amend the state constitution to allow the state Legislature to restrict marriage to men and women only. The Hawaii couples’ lawsuit comes to an end.
1998:The Alaska Superior Court declares that denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples is unconstitutional. The state later ratifies a constitutional amendment to counter the ruling.
Dec. 20, 1999:The Vermont Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples are entitled to the same rights as opposite-sex married couples. The decision is suspended until the Legislature can consider and enact legislation consistent with the constitutional mandate.
April 25, 2000:Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, a Democrat, signs a civil union bill, making Vermont the first state to legally recognize same-sex couples.
2001:The Netherlands becomes the first country to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples, 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:Seven same-sex couples who were denied marriage licenses file a suit, Goodridge et al. v. Department of Public Health, seeking the right to marry in Massachusetts.
May 8, 2002:The trial court rules against plaintiff couples in Goodridge. Attorneys from Gay & Lesbian Advocates and Defenders announce intention to appeal.
Jan. 30, 2003:Belgium recognizes same-sex couples equally in tax, inheritance and other marriage benefits but stops short of allowing same-sex married couples to adopt children together. The law stipulates that only couples from countries that allow same-sex marriages can be married under the law.
May 21, 2003:Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Colo., and five co-sponsors introduce a resolution to amend the U.S. Constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman.
June 10, 2003:Ontario, Canada, legalizes marriage for same-sex couples in that province.
June 26, 2003:The U.S. Supreme Court, ruling in Lawrence v. Texas, rules that all 13 remaining state sodomy laws are unconstitutional. This decision overturns the infamous 1986 decision in Bowers v. Hardwick, which found anti-gay sodomy laws constitutional.
July 8, 2003:British Columbia, Canada, legalizes marriage for same-sex couples.
Sept. 4, 2003:The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, chaired by Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, holds a hearing entitled, “What Is Needed to Defend the Bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act of 1996?”
Nov. 18, 2003:The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules in Goodridge that the state constitution mandates marriage equality for same-sex couples.
Feb. 4, 2004:The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court reaffirms its decision in Goodridge, informing lawmakers that only marriage rights — not civil unions — would provide equal protection under the state constitution to same-sex couples, and thus meet the requirements set forth in Goodridge.
Feb. 11, 2004:The Massachusetts Legislature holds a constitutional convention to consider whether to amend the state constitution to limit marriage to one man and one woman. The session recesses Feb. 12 after two amendments failed to receive the votes needed for first passage.
Feb. 12, 2004: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. The first to marry are Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, founders of the Daughters of Bilitis and partners for more than 50 years. Within days, more than 2,000 same-sex couples receive marriage licenses and are married.
Feb. 17, 2004:Two court challenges filed by anti-gay activists against San Francisco in Superior Court fail to stop San Francisco from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Feb. 20, 2004:Officials in Sandoval County, N.M., issue marriage licenses to a handful of same-sex couples.
Feb. 24, 2004:President George W. Bush endorses amending the U.S. Constitution to prohibit marriage between same-sex couples, declaring, “The preservation of marriage rises to this level of national importance.”
Feb. 23, 2004:The New Mexico attorney general declares that the same-sex marriage licenses issued in Sandoval County are invalid. Any licenses issued and the rights associated with them are revoked.
Feb. 27, 2004:New Paltz, N.Y., Mayor Jason West marries 21 same-sex couples on the steps of the village hall.
March 3, 2004:The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution holds a second hearing on Defense of Marriage Act. An NAACP spokesman calls the Federal Marriage Amendment “nothing more than a highly divisive political ploy to distract the country from focusing on our overabundance of real problems and our tremendous lack of creative and effective solutions.”
March 3, 2004:Multnomah County officials begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Portland, Ore.
March 5, 2004: A New York judge bars Mayor Jason West from performing same-sex marriages.
March 8, 2004:Asbury Park, N.J., Deputy Mayor James Bruno marries a same-sex couple.
March 11, 2004:The California Supreme Court orders an immediate halt to weddings for same-sex couples in San Francisco and says it will decide whether the city had the authority to issue marriage licenses in defiance of state law.
March 19, 2004:The Canadian province of Quebec legalizes marriage between same-sex couples.
March 20, 2004:A House Judiciary subcommittee holds a hearing on the Federal Marriage Amendment, the first of five promised in the House. Former Georgia GOP Rep. Bob Barr — author of the Defense of Marriage Act — testifies: “If we begin to treat the Constitution as our personal sandbox, in which to build and destroy castles as we please, we risk diluting the grandeur of having a Constitution in the first place.”
March 23, 2004:The Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on the Federal Marriage Amendment.
March 29, 2004:The Massachusetts Legislature votes to ban marriage for same-sex couples and establish civil unions, approving a proposed constitutional amendment that would reverse the Supreme Judicial Court’s historic ruling.
April 15, 2004:Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a Republican, announces he will seek last-minute legislation to appoint a special counsel that would ask the state’s highest court to delay its ruling in Goodridge.
April 15, 2004:Incoming Prime Minister José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero announces that Spain will legalize same-sex marriages and grant equal rights to same-sex couples.
April 20, 2004:A state judge strikes down an Oregon law that blocked same-sex couples from marrying and orders the state to recognize the more than 3,000 marriages of same-sex couples that already took place in Oregon. Multnomah County Circuit Judge Frank Bearden also issues a 90-day stay on marriages of same-sex couples until the Legislature can decide how to treat the couples in the future — by extending marriage or adopting a system like Vermont’s civil unions. The same day, in the first legislative vote in the country in favor of marriage equality, a California state Assembly committee votes 8 to 3 to advance the Marriage License Non-Discrimination Act.
April 22, 2004:The House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution holds another hearing on the Federal Marriage Amendment.
May 13, 2004: At another House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution hearing, defeated U.S. Supreme Court nominee Judge Robert Bork testifies that he supports amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.
May 17, 2004:At midnight, Cambridge, Mass., begins accepting applications for marriage licenses from same-sex couples — making Massachusetts the first state in the nation to grant marriage licenses statewide. Over the course of the day more than 600 couples apply for licenses across Massachusetts. All seven plaintiff couples in Goodridge, including Hilary and Julie Goodridge, marry.
May 25, 2004:The California Supreme Court hears arguments on the validity of the San Francisco marriages.
July 14, 2004:The U.S. Senate votes on whether to move forward with the Federal Marriage Amendment. The amendment fails, with 50 votes against proceeding and 48 in favor.
July 22, 2004:The U.S. House of Representatives passes the Marriage Protection Act, which would limit the power of federal courts to rule on cases related to same-sex marriage. The bill moves on to the Senate.
Aug. 12, 2004:The California Supreme Court rules that the city of San Francisco lacked the authority to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and invalidates the licenses of the more than 4,000 couples married there in February 2004.
Nov. 2, 2004:State constitutional amendments banning marriage rights for same-sex couples are approved in 11 states: Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah.
March 14, 2005:A California Superior Court judge rules that the denying marriage rights to same-sex couples is unconstitutional. The case is appealed to the state Supreme Court.
April 5, 2005:A state constitutional amendment banning marriage rights for same-sex couples is approved by voters in Kansas.
April 14, 2005:Oregon’s Supreme Court nullifies the nearly 3,000 marriage licenses previously issued to same-sex couples in Multnomah County.
May 12, 2005:Nebraska’s constitutional amendment denying marriage rights to same-sex couples is struck down by a federal judge.
June 28, 2005:The Canadian Parliament votes to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples by a vote of 158-133.
June 30, 2005:Spain’s Parliament votes 187-147 to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.
Sept. 14, 2005:The Massachusetts Legislature defeats a proposed constitutional amendment, by a vote of 157-39, which would have banned marriage rights for same-sex couples.
Sept. 1, 2005:The California state Senate passes a bill to legalize marriage for same-sex couples.
Sept. 6, 2005:The California state House passes the same bill legalizing marriage rights for same-sex couples. California’s Legislature is the first in the United States to vote in favor of marriage equality.
Sept. 29, 2005:Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes California’s marriage equality bill.
Oct. 1, 2005:Connecticut begins accepting civil union licenses from same-sex couples.
Nov. 8, 2005:Texas passes a state constitutional amendment banning marriage rights for same-sex couples. It is the 18th state to do so.
Dec. 1, 2005: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.
Dec. 5, 2005:The United Kingdom’s Civil Partnership Act goes into effect, giving same-sex couples in the U.K. the legal rights of marriage.
Dec. 8, 2005:A New York state appeals court rejects a constitutional challenge to the state’s ban of marriage for same-sex couples.
Jan. 20, 2006:Maryland’s ban on marriage for 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.
May 9, 2006:A federal appeals court in California rejects a legal challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
June 7, 2006:The U.S. Senate defeats the Federal Marriage Amendment, which would have amended the U.S. Constitution to bar any recognition of marriage or its legal incidents for same-sex couples. The vote is 49-48, far short of the two-thirds majority required for final passage.
July 1, 2006:The Czech Republic’s civil partnership law goes into effect, granting registered couples several rights including inheritance and alimony.
July 6, 2006:The highest court in New York upholds the state’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples.
July 6, 2006:The Georgia Supreme Court reinstates a constitutional ban on marriage for same-sex couples, which had been struck down on procedural grounds by a lower court after being ratified by voters.
July 12, 2006:A Connecticut trial court rules that the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples does not violate the state constitution.
July 14, 2006:A federal appeals court reinstates Nebraska’s constitutional ban on marriage for same-sex couples, overturning a lower court decision.
July 18, 2006:The U.S. House of Representatives defeats the Federal Marriage Amendment by a vote of 236-187-1, far short of the two-thirds majority required for passage.
July 26, 2006:The Supreme Court of Washington state upholds the state’s ban on marriage for same-sex couples, overturning a lower court decision that had ruled the ban unconstitutional.
Sept. 29, 2006:A Massachusetts trial court rules that same-sex couples from Rhode Island can marry in Massachusetts.
Oct. 5, 2006:The California Court of Appeals reverses a lower court decision that ruled that the restriction of marriage to one man and one woman was unconstitutional. The case will go before the state Supreme Court.
Oct. 25, 2006:The New Jersey Supreme Court holds that same-sex couples are entitled to all of the state-level spousal rights and responsibilities. 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.
Nov. 7, 2006:Arizona becomes the first state to reject at the ballot box a state constitutional amendment banning marriage and other benefits for unmarried couples.
Nov. 7, 2006:State constitutional amendments banning marriage, and in most cases other legal rights for same-sex couples, pass in Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin. A total of 26 states have amended their constitutions to exclude same-sex couples from marriage.
Nov. 14, 2006:The South African Parliament passes a measure by vote of 230-41 to allow both opposite-sex and same-sex couples to register for marriage or civil partnerships. South Africa becomes the fifth nation to extend marriage equality to same-sex couples.
Nov. 21, 2006:The Israel Supreme Court orders the registration of marriages of same-sex couples that were conducted in Canada. The court does not address the legal status of the couples or use the word “recognition.”
Dec. 4, 2006:Maryland’s highest court hears oral arguments on whether same-sex couples have a right to marry under the state constitution.
Dec. 8, 2006:Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper asks the House of Commons whether it wants to reopen the issue of marriage for same-sex couples, which had been extended nationwide in 2005. The motion is soundly defeated by a vote of 175-123.
Dec. 14, 2006: The New Jersey Legislature establishes civil unions for same-sex couples.