When was gay marriage legalized in the us
A decade after the U.S. legalized gay marriage, Jim Obergefell says the combat isn't over
Over the past several months, Republican lawmakers in at least 10 states have introduced measures aimed at undermining homosexual marriage rights. These measures, many of which were crafted with the aid of the anti-marriage equality group MassResistance, seek to ask the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell.
MassResistance told NBC News that while these proposals deal with backlash and wouldn’t transform policy even if passed, keeping opposition to queer marriage in the universal eye is a beat for them. The community said it believes marriage laws should be left to states, and they question the constitutional basis of the 5-to-4 Dobbs ruling.
NBC News reached out to the authors of these state measures, but they either declined an interview or did not respond.
“Marriage is a right, and it shouldn’t depend on where you live,” Obergefell said. “Why is queer marriage any different than interracial marriage or any other marriage?”
Obergefell’s journey to becoming a leader for same-sex marriage rights began with his own love story. In 2013, after his spouse, John Arthur, was diagnosed with terminal
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the nature. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of people, national and regional advocates and participate tools, resources, and lessons learned to empower movements for marriage equality.
Current State of Marriage Equality
There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the Combined Kingdom, the Together States of America and Uruguay.
These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions.
Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in 2025
Liechtenstein: On May 16, 2024, Liechtenstein's government passed a bill in favor of marriage equality. The law went into effect January 1, 2025.
The Journey to Marriage Equality in the Together States
The road to nationwide marriage equality was a long one, spanning decades of United States history and culminating in victory in June 2015. Throughout the long brawl for marriage equality, HRC was at the forefront.
Volunteer with HRC
From gathering supporters in small towns across the country to rallying in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, we gave our all to assure every person, regardless of whom they love, is recognized equally under the law.
A Growing Call for Equality
Efforts to legalize lgbtq+ marriage began to pop up across the land in the 1990s, and with it challenges on the state and national levels. Civil unions for same-sex couples existed in many states but created a separate but identical standard. At the federal level, couples were denied access to more than 1,100 federal rights and responsibilities associated with the institution, as well as those denied by their given state. The Defense of Marriage Act was signed into law in 1996 and defined marriage by the federal government as between a male and woman, thereby allowing states to deny marriage equality.
New Century &
Same-sex marriage is made legal nationwide with Obergefell v. Hodges decision
June 26, 2015 marks a major milestone for civil rights in the United States, as the Supreme Court announces its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. By one vote, the court rules that same-sex marriage cannot be banned in the United States and that all same-sex marriages must be recognized nationwide, finally granting same-sex couples identical rights to heterosexual couples under the law.
In 1971, just two years after the Stonewall Riots that unofficially marked the starting of the struggle for gay rights and marriage equality, the Minnesota Supreme Court had found homosexual marriage bans constitutional, a precedent which the Supreme Court had never challenged. As homosexuality gradually became more accepted in American culture, the conservative backlash was strong enough to force President Bill Clinton to sign the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages at the federal level, into commandment in 1996.
Over the next decade, many states banned same-sex marriage, while Vermont instituted same-sex civil unions in 2000 and Massachusetts became the first mention to legalize s
When was same-sex marriage legalized in the US? A swift history of LGBTQ rights battles
There are 35 countries where same-sex marriage is legal. The most recent country to legalize same-sex marriage is Estonia, and its law went into effect Jan. 1 of this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
But LGBTQ+ rights are under ambush in other political settings. The American Civil Liberties Union is currently watching 300 anti-LGBTQ bills for the 2024 legislative session, many of them involving curriculum, pronouns and gender-affirming care. Last year, USA TODAY reported over 650 bills targeting the community were introduced in the first half of 2023.
When was same-sex marriage legalized in the US?
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court made homosexual marriage legal across the country with its ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case.
According to Supreme Court database Oyez, this case was brought up to the Supreme Court after groups of same-sex couples sued state agencies in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, challenging these states’ bans on lgbtq+ marriage.
Some of these states’ same-sex marriage bans were part of a national movement in response to President George W.
Same-sex marriage is made legal nationwide with Obergefell v. Hodges decision
June 26, 2015 marks a major milestone for civil rights in the United States, as the Supreme Court announces its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. By one vote, the court rules that same-sex marriage cannot be banned in the United States and that all same-sex marriages must be recognized nationwide, finally granting same-sex couples identical rights to heterosexual couples under the law.
In 1971, just two years after the Stonewall Riots that unofficially marked the starting of the struggle for gay rights and marriage equality, the Minnesota Supreme Court had found homosexual marriage bans constitutional, a precedent which the Supreme Court had never challenged. As homosexuality gradually became more accepted in American culture, the conservative backlash was strong enough to force President Bill Clinton to sign the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages at the federal level, into commandment in 1996.
Over the next decade, many states banned same-sex marriage, while Vermont instituted same-sex civil unions in 2000 and Massachusetts became the first mention to legalize s
When was same-sex marriage legalized in the US? A swift history of LGBTQ rights battles
There are 35 countries where same-sex marriage is legal. The most recent country to legalize same-sex marriage is Estonia, and its law went into effect Jan. 1 of this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
But LGBTQ+ rights are under ambush in other political settings. The American Civil Liberties Union is currently watching 300 anti-LGBTQ bills for the 2024 legislative session, many of them involving curriculum, pronouns and gender-affirming care. Last year, USA TODAY reported over 650 bills targeting the community were introduced in the first half of 2023.
When was same-sex marriage legalized in the US?
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court made homosexual marriage legal across the country with its ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case.
According to Supreme Court database Oyez, this case was brought up to the Supreme Court after groups of same-sex couples sued state agencies in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, challenging these states’ bans on lgbtq+ marriage.
Some of these states’ same-sex marriage bans were part of a national movement in response to President George W.