This article provides important legal details about the history of same-sex marriage in the United States.
This article provides important legal details about the history of same-sex marriage in the United States.
In 1971, two Minnesota men sued for the right to marry under that state’s marriage statute. Their case was unsuccessful, but in the last two decades several other important cases, especially in Hawaii, Vermont, Massachusetts, and California have changed the legal landscape for same-sex couples that want to marry.
Hawaii: Baehr v. Miike
In 1996, in the case Baehr v. Miike, three same-sex couples sued the state of Hawaii, arguing that its failure to issue them marriage licenses violated the Equal Rights Amendment to the state constitution. A trial judge ruled that the state’s same-sex marriage ban was invalid, but while an appeal was pending, Hawaii voters passed a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. The legislature, however, to avoid granting full marriage rights, provided for a new class of partners called “reciprocal beneficiaries,” similar to current domestic partnership laws in some other states. (Hawaii law has since changed. As of January 1, 2012, same-sex couples may enter into civil unions, securing all the rights and responsibilities of marriage in that state.)
The Hawaii reciprocal beneficiary law effectively ended the 1996 case. Although not quite the victory that the same-sex marriage movement had hoped for, it was still groundbreaking at the time because it was the first statewide domestic partnership law passed in the United States.
State and Federal DOMA Laws
Worried legislatures in other states passed laws banning same-sex marriage, called “Defense of Marriage” acts (DOMAs), and a federal DOMA was passed in 1996. The federal law prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages and denies federal benefits (such as joint income tax filing, immigration, and Social Security) to same-sex spouses.
Furthermore, in anticipation of the time when forward-thinking states would allow full legal marriage for same-sex couples, the federal DOMA permits states to ignore a same-sex marriage entered into in another state. This provision has become relevant now that some states do allow same-sex marriage. (Attitudes toward the federal DOMA may now be shifting, however. In 2011, the Obama administration took the significant step of stating that portions of DOMA were unconstitutional and, though it will continue to enforce the law, it will not defend it in court.)
Vermont: Baker v. State
In 1999, soon after the Baehr decision in Hawaii, across the country the Vermont Supreme Court ruled that prohibiting same-sex marriage violated the provision of the Vermont constitution guaranteeing equal rights to all citizens, because it denied same-sex couples the rights to which straight couples were entitled. (The case was Baker v. State.) But instead of ordering the government to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, the court left it up to the state legislature to remedy the situation. In response, the legislature passed a law creating the civil union registration system. (Under this system, until 2009 when same-sex marriage became legal in Vermont, same-sex couples could only enter into a civil union ceremony and were then subject to all state laws applying to married couples.)
Massachusetts Legalizes Same Sex Marriage
In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage when the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that the state’s DOMA law violated the Massachusetts constitution. (That case was Goodrige v. Dept. of Public Health.) In Goodridge, again the plaintiffs were same-sex couples who had been denied marriage licenses. Thousands of couples have married in Massachusetts since May 2004, when the new rules went into effect.
California: Proposition 8
Since the Massachusetts decision, the fight for same-sex marriage has been playing out in a number of states. One of the most intense struggles has been taking place in California, concerning a state constitutional amendment known as Proposition 8. In 2008, the California Supreme Court effectively legalized same-sex marriage in that state. Opponents of same-sex marriage placed a state constitutional amendment, Proposition 8, on the ballot, seeking to restore an opposite-sex-only definition of marriage. Proposition 8 passed in November of 2008, but the law has since been struck down as unconstitutional. (The latest decision was made in February 2012 in Perry v. Brown.) The case is on appeal, and it is expected that the U.S. Supreme Court will decide ultimately decide the fate of California same-sex marriage.
For More Information
In total, six states have opened the doors to legal marriage for same-sex couples. Those states are Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Vermont. The states of Washington and Maryland have also passed same-sex marriage laws, but they have not yet taken effect.
To stay up to date on the progress of marriage equality, check the legal updates at www.nolo.com and the blog at Making It Legal. You can also find a timeline of important events in the history of same-sex marriage on Wikipedia.
Adapted from A Legal Guide for Lesbian & Gay Couples, by Denis Clifford, Frederick Hertz, and Emily Doskow.
