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How Same-Sex Marriage Became Legal in the United States

July 27, 2022

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In 2015, the United States Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges. This was a huge victory for the LGBTQ community, and many people thought it couldn't happen. But how did we get to this point? Let's explore the history of same-sex marriage in the United States and discuss how it became legal in all 50 states.

The first same-sex marriage case in the United States was Baker v. Nelson, which was filed in 1971. The case challenged a Minnesota law that restricted marriage to opposite-sex couples. The plaintiffs, Jack Baker, and Michael McConnell were denied a marriage license by the clerk of Hennepin County, Minnesota. They appealed the decision to the Minnesota Supreme Court, which ruled against them.

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The case made its way to the US Supreme Court, but in 1972 the court declined to hear it. This was a huge disappointment for the LGBTQ community, but they didn't give up. In 1993, another case challenging same-sex marriage bans was filed: Baehr v. Miike. This case was brought by three same-sex couples in Hawaii who were denied marriage licenses.

The case went all the way to the Hawaii Supreme Court, which ruled in 1996 that the state's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. This was a huge victory, and it paved the way for other states to follow suit. In 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to marry under the state constitution.

This was a major turning point, and soon other states began legalizing same-sex marriage. In 2015, the US Supreme Court finally weighed in on the issue in Obergefell v. Hodges. The court ruled that all states must recognize same-sex marriages and that the right to marry is a fundamental constitutional right.

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This was a huge victory for the LGBTQ community, and it finally gave them the equality they deserved. Same-sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states, and the world is a better place because of it. Who knows what the future holds, but one thing is for sure: love always wins.

If you want to learn more about the history of same-sex marriage in the United States, check out this excellent timeline from The New York Times. It's a fascinating story, and it shows how much progress we've made in recent years. We should all be proud of how far we've come.

So there you have it: a brief history of same-sex marriage in the United States. It's been a long and winding road, but we've finally reached the point where love is equal. And that's something worth celebrating!

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Written By: 

Kollyn Conrad

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March 20th 2023

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