The road to Obergefell: Looking back on a decade of marriage equality
06/13/25
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The road to Obergefell: Looking back on a decade of marriage equalityLightField Studios/ShutterstockA decade ago, on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that marriage equality was the law of the land and that same-sex couples had the legal right to a marriage equal to different-sex couples. That victory was a long time coming, with activists working for years to get that right for queer people.
Here is a rough timeline of what led to the Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges that LGBTQ+ people should have all the same marriage rights as non-LGBTQ+ citizens.
Related: Talk to us: How has marriage equality impacted your life?
November 18, 2003
A lesbian couple wait to apply for a marriage license in Northampton, Massachusetts, on May 17, 2004.
Angela Jimenez/Getty Images
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules in favor of marriage equality, making the state the first to allow same-sex couples to marry legally. It went into effect May 17, 2004.
November 3, 2004
An opponent of same-sex marriage protests during a rally at City Hall on May 17, 2004 in Boston, Massachusetts.
Michael Springer/Getty Images
Backlash comes as voters in 11 states approve constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriages.
2008
People protesting against Prop 8 in San Francisco, California, in 2008.
Bob Riha Jr/Getty Images
The Supreme Courts of California and Connecticut approve marriage equality, but California voters go on to approve Proposition 8, a state constitutional amendment nullifying the court ruling.
2009
LGBTQ+ couples wait in line to request marriage licenses on April 27, 2009 in Des Moines, Iowa.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Iowa, Vermont, and New Hampshire become marriage equality states, Iowa by a court ruling the others through legislative action.
2011
New York Rangers player Sean Avery (left) and 'Sex and The City' star Cynthia Nixon on their way to urge New York lawmakers to legalize same-sex marriage at the Capitol on June 14, 2011.
John Carl D'Annibale/Albany Times Union/Getty Images
New York State passes a marriage equality law.
2012
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announced their support of marriage equality in 2012.
Getty Images
President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden announce support for marriage equality, and voters in Maine, Maryland, and Washington State approve marriage equality laws.
2013
Same-sex marriage supporters celebrate the SCOTUS ruling on June 26, 2013 in West Hollywood, California.
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court strikes down the main section of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, therefore allowing federal government recognition of same-sex marriages. The court also declines to overturn a lower court ruling striking down California’s Prop. 8, so marriage equality returns to the Golden State. Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, and Rhode Island pass marriage equality laws, and New Jersey and New Mexico courts rule for equal marriage rights.
2014
Opponents of same-sex marriage hold a rally in front of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on May 13, 2014 in Richmond, Virginia.
Zach Gibson/Getty Images
Federal court rulings bring marriage equality to Oregon, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Nevada, Alaska, Idaho, West Virginia, North Carolina, Arizona, Wyoming, Kansas, South Carolina, and Montana. The U.S. Supreme Court declines to review pro-marriage equality rulings in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin, so those states now have equal marriage rights. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upholds same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee. The ruling is appealed to the Supreme Court.
2015
Jim Obergefell (right) and Fred Sainz of the Human Rights Campaign (left) speak in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015 in Washington, D.C.Win McNamee/Getty ImagesCourts strike down same-sex marriage bans in Alabama and Florida in January. Then, on June 26, in the case out of the Sixth Circuit, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 for marriage equality, striking down all remaining bans. “The limitation of marriage to opposite-sex couples may long have seemed natural and just, but its inconsistency with the central meaning of the fundamental right to marry is now manifest,” Justice Anthony Kennedy writes in the ruling.
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