When was gay marriage legalized in the us
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 equivalent rights to heterosexual couples under the law.
In 1971, just two years after the Stonewall Riots that unofficially marked the origin of the struggle for gay rights and marriage equality, the Minnesota Supreme Court had found lgbtq+ 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 rule 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 express to legalize s
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the world. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of community, national and regional advocates and share tools, resources, and lessons learned to strengthen 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 United Kingdom, the United 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.
A decade after the U.S. legalized queer 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 same-sex marriage rights. These measures, many of which were crafted with the help of the anti-marriage equality group MassResistance, explore to ask the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell.
MassResistance told NBC News that while these proposals face backlash and wouldn’t alter policy even if passed, keeping disagreement to same-sex marriage in the widespread eye is a win for them. The group said it believes marriage laws should be left to states, and they interrogate the constitutional basis of the 5-to-4 Dobbs ruling.
NBC News reached out to the authors of these express measures, but they either declined an interview or did not respond.
“Marriage is a right, and it shouldn’t rest on on where you live,” Obergefell said. “Why is gay marriage any other than interracial marriage or any other marriage?”
Obergefell’s journey to becoming a public figure for same-sex marriage rights began with his own like story. In 2013, after his significant other , John Arthur, was diagnosed with terminal
The Journey to Marriage Equality in the United States
The road to nationwide marriage equality was a prolonged one, spanning decades of United States history and culminating in victory in June 2015. Throughout the long battle for marriage equality, HRC was at the forefront.
Volunteer with HRC
From gathering supporters in small towns across the land to rallying in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, we gave our all to guarantee every person, regardless of whom they love, is known equally under the law.
A Growing Summon for Equality
Efforts to legalize same-sex marriage began to pop up across the country in the 1990s, and with it challenges on the state and national levels. Civil unions for lgbtq+ couples existed in many states but created a separate but equal usual. 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 gentleman and woman, thereby allowing states to deny marriage equality.
New Century & When was same-sex marriage legalized in the US? A quick 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 attack in other political settings. The American Civil Liberties Union is currently tracking 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 homosexual marriage legalized in the US?
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court made same-sex 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 declare agencies in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, challenging these states’ bans on same-sex marriage.
Some of these states’ same-sex marriage bans were part of a national movement in response to President George W. 
When was same-sex marriage legalized in the US? A quick 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 attack in other political settings. The American Civil Liberties Union is currently tracking 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 homosexual marriage legalized in the US?
On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court made same-sex 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 declare agencies in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee, challenging these states’ bans on same-sex marriage.
Some of these states’ same-sex marriage bans were part of a national movement in response to President George W.