Same-sex marriage timeline
Same-sex marriage timeline
Proposition 22 passes in California
California voters approve Proposition 22, banning same-sex marriage, strengthening a law that Gov. Jerry Brown signed in 1977 and barring changes without another vote of the people.
U.S. Supreme Court strikes down sodomy laws
U.S. Supreme Court strikes down state criminal laws against gay sex, proclaiming for the first time that homosexual Americans have a constitutional right to their private sexual relationships “without being punished as criminals” while retaining “their dignity as free persons.”
Massachusetts overturns same-sex marriage ban
Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court becomes the nation’s first to legalize same-sex marriage by overturning the state’s ban.
S.F. defies California law
In protest of President Bush’s policies, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom authorizes the county clerk to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in defiance of state law.
Attorney General Bill Lockyer asks the state Supreme Court to stop the issuance of same-sex marriage licenses and invalidate the thousands of gay and lesbian weddings that have taken place at City Hall.
California court halts gay vows
The California Supreme Court orders an immediate halt to same-sex weddings in San Francisco and says it will decide later in the year whether Newsom exceeded his authority in allowing the marriages.
San Francisco responds by suing the state in Superior Court, contending that California’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.
Six unwed gay and lesbian couples file suit in Superior Court, challenging the state’s marriage law on constitutional grounds.
The suit is later consolidated with the city’s.
U.S. Senate defeats
The U.S. Senate defeats a same-sex marriage ban proposed as a constitutional amendment by the Bush administration.
California’s top court
The California Supreme Court rules that Newsom exceeded his authority when he authorized same-sex marriages in San Francisco and voids 3,955 marriages that were recorded between Feb. 12 and March 11.
Voters in 11 states approve constitutional amendments to ban same-sex marriage.
The amendments supported in Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio make it unconstitutional for the states to recognize or perform same-sex marriages or civil unions.
Dueling California legislation
Opposing bills are introduced in the California Legislatur
: One would allow same-sex marriage, and the other would ban it.
Canada affirms same-sex marriages
In a landmark decision, Canada’s Supreme Court says the government can legally extend marriage rights to same-sex couples.
Tradition versus equality
The case over the constitutionality of California’s ban on same-sex marriage opens in San Francisco Superior Court.
A San Francisco Superior Court judge rules that California’s ban on gay marriage is unconstitutional.
Schwarzenegger vetoes bill
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes a bill to give same-sex couples the right to marry in California.
Appeals court upholds
A California appeals court rules that gays and lesbians have no constitutional right to marry in the state, and furthermore, that any change granting that right must come from state lawmakers or the voters rather than the legal system.
81% of voters in Tennessee approve a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in the state.
City of S.F. appeals for review
The city of San Francisco appeals to the state Supreme Court to review the constitutionality of California’s ban on same-sex marriage, charging that the law violates the rights of gays and lesbians.
Legislative approval, governor denial
For a second time in three years, the California Legislature approves a bill to give same-sex couples the right to marry in California.
Schwarzenegger vetoes it.
Supporters of an initiative to ban same-sex marriage in the state’s Constitution submit more than 1.1 million signatures to qualify the measure for the November 2008 ballot.
The California Supreme Court overturns the ban on same-sex marriage in a 4-3 vote.
The day of the ruling, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom gives an impassioned speech about civil rights and same-sex marriage.
“Whether you like it or not” became a rallying cry for Prop. 8 defenders in the November campaign.
Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, qualifies for the November ballot.
A lawsuit filed in federal court seeks
The California Supreme Court upholds Prop. 8 in a ruling limited to state-law issues, saying it does not violate fundamental rights under the California Constitution.
The ruling leaves intact 18,000 same-sex marriages performed in California in the months before Prop. 8 passed.
The federal trial on Prop. 8 begins.
Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker rules Prop. 8 is unconstitutional but issues a stay on the ruling pending further hearings.
Governor jumps in
Schwarzenegger joins state Attorney General Jerry Brown in asking the courts to allow gays and lesbians to marry immediately in California.
Prop. 8’s backers say they will argue the appeal.
Prop. 8 defense outlook grows cloudy
A state appeals court refuses a request by the conservative Pacific Justice Institute to order Schwarzenegger and Brown to defend Prop. 8 in court.
Brown is elected governor, and Kamala Harris is elected attorney general.
Once in office, Harris declines to defend Prop. 8.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals finds Prop. 8 unconstitutional on narrower grounds than Walker did.
President Obama becomes the first sitting president to endorse same-sex marriage.
Prop. 8’s sponsors appeal the Feb. 7 decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Court grants hearings
The Supreme Court grants review of the Prop. 8 case and another case on the denial of federal benefits to same-sex spouses under the Defense of Marriage Act.
The Supreme Court voids the appeals court’s ruling on Prop. 8 in a 5-4 decision, saying the initiative’s backers didn’t have legal standing to appeal Walker’s ruling.
In another 5-4 ruling, the court declares parts of the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals lifts the stay that had prevented same-sex marriages, and weddings resume at San Francisco’s City Hall.
The California Supreme Court unanimously rejects an attempt to revive the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, ending a nine-year legal battle over the rights of gays and lesbians to marry the partner of their choice.
New Jersey’s highest court rules unanimously to uphold a lower-court order that gay weddings could be performed.
The U.S. Supreme Court justices deny review of open same-sex marriage cases in Virginia, Indiana, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Utah, quietly giving momentum to marriage equality.
Weddings are held immediately after this announcement in those five states, bringing the total number of states where same-sex couples can marry to 30.
Appeals court upholds laws banning same-sex marriage
After more than 20 court victories for marriage equality, a federal appeals court that heard arguments on same-sex marriage bans or restrictions in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky and Tennessee on Aug. 6 concludes that states have the right to set rules for marriage.
Florida becomes the 36th state where same-sex marriages are legal statewide.
The U.S. Supreme Court begins to hear arguments in a case that could legalize same-sex marriage in the 13 states that now prohibit it.
In a historic victory for gay rights, the U.S. Supreme Court rules 5-4 that gays and lesbians have the constitutional right to marry their chosen partner.