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How Same-Sex Marriage Became Legal in the United States

July 27, 2022

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History

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.

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.

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!

Written By: 

Kollyn Conrad

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March 20th 2023

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