Same Sex Marriage banned in the US?

After Supreme Court ends Roe v. Wade, fears in Florida, California and other states that same-sex marriage is next. Let's take a look of the history of this right in the US.

An Rising Call for Equality

Efforts to legalize same-sex marriage began to sprout up across this country in the 1990s, bringing with them state and national challenges. Civil unions for same-sex couples were legal in many states, but they established a separate but equal standard. Couples were denied access to more than 1,100 federal rights and responsibilities associated with the institution, as well as those denied by their respective states, at the federal level. The Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law in 1996, defined marriage as being between a man and a woman, allowing states to deny marriage equality.

New Millennium, New Beginnings

As the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas struck down sodomy laws in 2003, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage through a court ruling. On the federal level, however, efforts to prevent equality from becoming a reality continued. President Bush declared his opposition to same-sex marriage, while the House proposed a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman.

Signals of Increasing Support Hope

States from coast to coast began repealing previous bans and enshrining marriage equality in new legislation. Marriage equality was famously achieved in California in 2008, only to be undone the following year by the introduction and passage of Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that updated the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman. The amendment was later challenged in lower courts before reaching the Supreme Court.

A Watershed Moment for Change

Only a few years after President Obama declared DOMA unconstitutional and directed the Justice Department to cease defending it in court, the Supreme Court advanced marriage equality in key decisions in 2013. Hollingsworth v. Perry ruled that Prop. 8 lacked legal standing, while United States v. Windsor ruled that DOMA was unconstitutional, paving the way for full equality.

Marriage Equality Becomes a Reality

The Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, signaled the arrival of full marriage equality. Marriage equality became the law of the land in a landmark 5-4 decision, granting same-sex couples in all 50 states the right to full, equal legal recognition.