When gay marriage became legal
The Journey to Marriage Equality in the Joined States
The road to nationwide marriage equality was a long one, spanning decades of United States history and culminating in victory in June 2015. Throughout the long defend for marriage equality, HRC was at the forefront.
Volunteer with HRC
From gathering supporters in small towns across the country to rallying in front of the Supreme Court of the United States, we gave our all to secure every person, regardless of whom they love, is recognized equally under the law.
A Growing Call for Equality
Efforts to legalize queer marriage began to pop up across the territory in the 1990s, and with it challenges on the state and national levels. Civil unions for same-sex couples existed in many states but created a separate but same standard. 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 guy and woman, thereby allowing states to deny marriage equality.
New Century & Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the planet. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of collective, national and regional advocates and disseminate tools, resources, and lessons learned to empower 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 Combined Kingdom, the Merged 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.
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 judgment in Obergefell v. Hodges. By one vote, the court rules that homosexual marriage cannot be banned in the United States and that all lgbtq+ marriages must be recognized nationwide, finally granting same-sex couples equal rights to heterosexual couples under the law.
In 1971, just two years after the Stonewall Riots that unofficially marked the origin of the strife for gay rights and marriage equality, the Minnesota Supreme Court had set up same-sex 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 robust enough to coerce President Bill Clinton to sign the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages at the federal level, into law 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 state to legalize s 
Date Same Sex Marriage Legalized By State
All 50 states in the United States have legalized same-sex marriage. Below are the dates when each state did so. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, thus making same-sex marriage legal in the 13 states that have not legalized same-sex marriage up to that point.
By Date Rank State Name Date Identical Sex Marriage Legalized 1 Massachusetts May 17, 2004 2 Connecticut November 12, 2008 3 Iowa April 24, 2009 4 Vermont September 1, 2009 5 New Hampshire January 1, 2010 6 New York July 24, 2011 7 Washington December 9, 2012 8 Maine December 29, 2012 9 Maryland January 1, 2013 10 California June 28, 2013 11 Delaware July 1, 2013 12-T Minnesota August 1, 2013 12-T Rhode Island August 1, 2013 14 New Jersey October 21, 2013 15 Hawaii December 2, 2013 16 New Mexico December 19, 2013 17 Oregon May 19, 2014 18 Pennsylvania May 20, 2014 19 Illinois June 1, 2014 20-T Indiana October 6, 2014 20-T Oklahoma October 6, 2014
A decade after the U.S. legalized gay marriage, Jim Obergefell says the clash isn't over
Over the past several months, Republican lawmakers in at least 10 states have introduced measures aimed at undermining lgbtq+ marriage rights. These measures, many of which were crafted with the serve of the anti-marriage equality group MassResistance, seek to ask the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell.
MassResistance told NBC News that while these proposals deal with backlash and wouldn’t alter policy even if passed, keeping opposition to lgbtq+ marriage in the common eye is a achieve for them. The team said it believes marriage laws should be left to states, and they question the constitutional basis of the 5-to-4 Dobbs ruling.
NBC News reached out to the authors of these state measures, but they either declined an interview or did not respond.
“Marriage is a right, and it shouldn’t depend on where you live,” Obergefell said. “Why is queer marriage any different than interracial marriage or any other marriage?”
Obergefell’s journey to becoming a leader for same-sex marriage rights began with his own love story. In 2013, after his significant other, John Arthur, was diagnosed with terminal
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the planet. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of collective, national and regional advocates and disseminate tools, resources, and lessons learned to empower 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 Combined Kingdom, the Merged 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.
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 judgment in Obergefell v. Hodges. By one vote, the court rules that homosexual marriage cannot be banned in the United States and that all lgbtq+ marriages must be recognized nationwide, finally granting same-sex couples equal rights to heterosexual couples under the law.
In 1971, just two years after the Stonewall Riots that unofficially marked the origin of the strife for gay rights and marriage equality, the Minnesota Supreme Court had set up same-sex 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 robust enough to coerce President Bill Clinton to sign the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriages at the federal level, into law 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 state to legalize s
Date Same Sex Marriage Legalized By State
All 50 states in the United States have legalized same-sex marriage. Below are the dates when each state did so. On June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a right guaranteed by the Constitution, thus making same-sex marriage legal in the 13 states that have not legalized same-sex marriage up to that point.
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