Bells Are Ringing

Two steps forward and one step back: a history of same-sex marriage laws across the country.

1993
Hawaii’s Supreme Court rules that the state must show a compelling reason to ban same-sex marriage, and orders a lower court to rehear a case seeking the right of same-sex couples to marry.

1995
In response to the prospect of other states legalizing same-sex marriages, Utah governor Mike Leavitt signs into law the first state Defense of Marriage statute, which stipulates that Utah does not have to recognize out-of-state marriages that violate state public policy.

1996
President Bill Clinton signs into law the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which upholds states’ rights to ban same-sex marriages and to refuse to recognize such marriages performed elsewhere.

1998
Hawaii voters approve a state constitutional amendment allowing the legislature to define marriage. Alaska voters approve an amendment banning same-sex marriage.

2000
Vermont governor Howard Dean signs a civil-union bill, making Vermont the first state to legally recognize same-sex couples.

2002
Nevada voters give final approval to a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. (Voters first approved the ban in 2000, but state law requires a majority vote in two consecutive election years to amend the constitution.)

2003
Massachusetts’ Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s highest court, rules that the state constitution guarantees equal marriage rights for same-sex couples.

2004
In February, SF mayor Gavin Newsom authorizes city officials to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. In March, the California Supreme Court orders a halt to the marriages. In May, Massachusetts begins marrying same-sex couples. Later in the year,
voters in Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon and Utah approve amendments banning same-sex marriage.

2005
The California Supreme Court lets stand a new law creating a domestic partners’ registry for same-sex couples. The court also issues a first-of-its-kind ruling recognizing the co-parenting rights of same-sex couples. The California State Assembly approves a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, but Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoes it.

2006
Voters in seven states—Idaho, Colorado, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin—approve constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage. Arizona becomes the first state to reject at the ballot box a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and other benefits for unmarried couples. New Jersey governor Jon Corzine, in the wake of a court order, signs a bill permitting same-sex couples to enter into civil unions, granting the same state benefits conferred on married couples.

2007
Rhode Island attorney general Patrick C. Lynch issues a non-binding legal opinion advising his state to recognize the same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts

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