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May 22, 2015: Ireland votes to legalize same-sex marriage
ON THIS DAY IN 2015… Ireland became the first country to introduce same-sex marriage by a popular vote, with 62% of voters favoring an...
May 22, 20211 min read
May 18, 2004: Ohio activist launches amendment campaign
ON THIS DAY IN 2004… Cincinnati anti-pornography activist Phil Burress begins collecting signatures to qualify a constitutional amendment...
May 18, 20212 min read
May 17, 2004: First same-sex couples marry in Massachusetts
ON THIS DAY IN 2004… The first same-sex couples to legally marry in the United States exchanged vows in Massachusetts. The previous...
May 17, 20211 min read
May 16, 1994: Anti-gay activists meet in Colorado Springs
ON THIS DAY IN 1994... A cadre of anti-gay activists assemble in Colorado Springs for what one journalist called the “first national...
May 16, 20212 min read
May 15, 2008: California Supreme Court strikes down marriage ban
ON THIS DAY IN 2008… The California Supreme Court upheld a lower-court-ruling that found an eight-year-old ban on same-sex marriage to be...
May 14, 20212 min read
May 15, 2002: Federal Marriage Amendment introduced in House
ON THIS DAY IN 2002… The first bill to write an amendment into the U.S. Constitution banning same-sex marriage was introduced in the...
May 14, 20212 min read
May 11, 2011: Minnesota legislators send super-DOMA amendment to ballot
ON THIS DAY IN 2011… The Minnesota Senate passed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, placing the issue on the November 2012 ballot...
May 11, 20211 min read
May 9, 2012: Barack Obama announces marriage reversal
ON THIS DAY IN 2012… President Barack Obama announced his personal view was now that “same-sex couples should be able to get married," a...
May 9, 20213 min read
May 7, 1996: Defense of Marriage Act introduced in House
ON THIS DAY IN 1996... The Defense of Marriage Act, the first effort to block same-sex marriage under federal law, was introduced in the...
May 7, 20213 min read
May 5, 1993: Hawaii Supreme Court rules for gay marriage
ON THIS DAY IN 1993… The Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry amounted to a form of...
May 5, 20211 min read
May 4, 2012: Biden announces support for gay marriage
ON THIS DAY IN 2012… Vice President Joe Biden announced his support for gay marriage, a reversal of his previous position that upended...
May 4, 20213 min read
April 30, 2001: Evan Wolfson leaves Lambda to focus on marriage
ON THIS DAY IN 2001… Attorney Evan Wolfson, the leading national activist for equal marriage rights, departed Lambda Legal to focus...
Apr 30, 20212 min read
April 28, 2015: Supreme Court hears marriage case
ON THIS DAY IN 2015… The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, the case that would determine whether same-sex...
Apr 28, 20212 min read
April 26, 2000: Vermont enacts civil-union law
ON THIS DAY IN 2000… Vermont Governor Howard Dean signed a bill to establish the country’s first civil unions, a marriage-lite program...
Apr 26, 20212 min read
April 20, 2005: Connecticut enacts civil-union law
ON THIS DAY IN 2005… Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell signed a bill to establish civil unions, with ambivalent backing from gay activists...
Apr 20, 20212 min read
April 19, 2009: Marriage debate dominates Miss USA pageant
ON THIS DAY IN 2009... Miss California Carrie Prejean declared her disapproval of same-sex unions during the final round of a national...
Apr 19, 20213 min read
April 7, 2009: Vermont enacts marriage law
ON THIS DAY IN 2009… Vermont’s House of Representatives voted to override the governor’s veto of a marriage bill, making it the first...
Apr 7, 20212 min read
April 3, 2009: Iowa court asserts gays can marry
ON THIS DAY IN 2009… The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that state law limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples unfairly excludes "disfavored...
Apr 3, 20212 min read
April 1, 2001: Netherlands legalizes same-sex marriage
ON THIS DAY IN 2001.... The Netherlands became the first country on earth to permit same-sex couples to marry on equal terms to same-sex...
Apr 1, 20212 min read
March 26, 2013: Supreme Court hears Prop 8 case
ON THIS DAY IN 2013… The U.S. Supreme Court heard a challenge to California’s Proposition 8, the first-ever case related to same-sex...
Mar 26, 20212 min read
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