Gay Marriage Timele | Pew Rearch Center

Contents:

• GAY MARRIAGE TIMELE
• GAY MARRIAGE GAS MORE ACCEPTANCE
• MANY SUCCSFUL GAY MARRIAG SHARE AN OPEN SECRET
• HAS THE TIME E FOR GAY MARRIAGE THE UK?
• HISTORY OF GAY MARRIAGE

GAY MARRIAGE TIMELE

Montana Supreme Court l that the gay and lbian partners of Montana Universy employe have the same right to health surance benefs as their heterosexual unterparts. Arizona be the first state to reject at the ballot box a state nstutnal amendment banng gay marriage and other benefs for unmarried upl. Michigan appeals urt l that state’s ban on gay marriage prohibs state and lol ernments and public universi om offerg health benefs to partners same-sex relatnships.

California Supreme Court hears oral arguments se termg whether the state’s domtic partnership law aquately fulfills the equal rights of gay upl. Early Years: Same-Sex Marriage Bans In 1970, jt one year after the historic Stonewall Rts that galvanized the gay rights movement, law stunt Richard Baker and librarian Jam McConnell applied for a marriage license Mnota.Clerk Gerald Nelson rejected their applitn bee they were a same-sex uple, and a trial urt upheld his cisn. Supreme Court 1972 cled to hear the se “for want of a substantial feral qutn.” This lg effectively blocked feral urts om lg on same-sex marriage for s, leavg the cisn solely the hands of stat, which alt blow after blow to those hopg to see gay marriage beg legal.In 1973, for stance, Maryland beme the first state to create a law that explicly f marriage as a unn between a man and woman, a belief held by many nservative relig groups.

GAY MARRIAGE GAS MORE ACCEPTANCE

Though the gay rights movement saw some advancements the 1970s and 1980s—such as Harvey Milk beg the first openly gay man elected to public office the untry 1977—the fight for gay marriage ma ltle headway for many years.Marriage Equaly: Turng the Ti In the late 1980s and early 1990s, same-sex upl saw the first signs of hope on the marriage ont a long time.

In 1989, the San Francis Board of Supervisors passed an ordance that allowed homosexual upl and unmarried heterosexual upl to register for domtic partnerships, which granted hospal visatn rights and other benefs.Three years later, the District of Columbia siarly passed a new law that allowed same-sex upl to register as domtic partners.

MANY SUCCSFUL GAY MARRIAG SHARE AN OPEN SECRET

Ernment.Then, 1993, the hight urt Hawaii led that a ban on same-sex marriage may vlate that state nstutn’s Equal Protectn Clse—the first time a state urt has ever ched toward makg gay marriage legal.The Hawaii Supreme Court sent the se—brought by a gay male uple and two lbian upl who were nied marriage licens 1990—back for further review to the lower First Circu Court, which 1991 origally dismissed the su.As the state tried to prove that there was “pellg state tert” jtifyg the ban, the se would be tied up ligatn for the next three years.The Defense of Marriage Act Opponents of gay marriage, however, did not s on their hnch. Congrs 1996 passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which Print Bill Clton signed to law.DOMA didn’t ban gay marriage outright but specified that only heterosexual upl uld be granted feral marriage benefs. That is, even if a state ma gay marriage legal, same-sex upl still wouldn’t be able to file e tax jotly, sponsor spo for immigratn benefs or receive spoal Social Secury payments, among many other thgs.The act was a huge setback for the marriage equaly movement, but transient good news arose three months later: Hawaii Judge Kev S.

In 1998, voters approved a nstutnal amendment banng same-sex marriage the state.Phg for Change: Civil Unns The next saw a whirlwd of activy on the gay marriage ont, begng wh the year 2000 when Vermont beme the first state to legalize civil unns, a legal stat that provis most of the state-level benefs of marriage.Three years later, Massachetts beme the first state to legalize gay marriage when the Massachetts Supreme Court led that same-sex upl had the right to marry Goodridge v. The state fally troduced the untry to gay marriage (m the feral benefs) when began issug same-sex marriage licens on May 17, 2004.Later that year, the U.S.

HAS THE TIME E FOR GAY MARRIAGE THE UK?

Bh—that would outlaw gay marriage across the untry.2004 was notable for upl many other stat as well, though for the oppose reason: Ten typilly nservative stat, along wh Oregon, enacted state-level bans on gay marriage. Kansas and Texas were next 2005, and 2006 saw seven more stat passg Constutnal amendments agast gay marriage.But towards the end of the , gay marriage beme legal var stat, cludg Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont (the first state to approve by legislative means) and New Hampshire.Domtic Partnerships Throughout the and the begng of the next, California equently ma headl for seawg on the gay marriage issue.The state was the first to pass a domtic partnership statute 1999, and legislators tried to pass a same-sex marriage bill 2005 and 2007. Perry legalized same-sex marriage California.The early 2010s ntued the state-level battl over gay marriage that fed the precedg , wh at least one notable event.

For the first time the untry’s history, voters (rather than judg or legislators) Mae, Maryland, and Washgton approved Constutnal amendments permtg same-sex marriage 2012.Same-sex marriage also beme a feral issue aga.In 2010, Massachetts, the first state to legalize gay marriage, found Sectn 3 of DOMA—the part of the 1996 law that fed marriage as a unn between one man and one woman—to be unnstutnal. Wdsor, nservative Jtice Anthony Kennedy sid wh Jtic Ruth Bar Gsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan favor of same-sex marriage rights, ultimately makg gay marriage legal across the natn June 2015.By this time, was still outlawed only 13 stat, and more than 20 other untri had already legalized gay marriage, startg wh the Netherlands December 2000. Notably, plurali of whe male Prottants and whe Catholics now favor allowg gays and lbians to marry legally — the first time this has occurred Pew Rearch Center surveys.

The Silent Generatn (born 1928 to 1945) ntu to oppose same-sex marriage; jt 29% favor allowg gays and lbians to marry legally while 59% are opposed.

HISTORY OF GAY MARRIAGE

Even among the Silent Generatn, however, there is somewhat more support than 2009 (23% favor) and substantially greater support than 2003, when jt 17% backed gay marriage. Inpennts and other non-partisans are now divid their view: 44% favor allowg gays and lbians to marry legally while 43% are opposed. Wh are now evenly divid over gay marriage; polls nducted this year, 44% of non-Hispanic wh favor allowg gays and lbians to marry legally and 46% are opposed.

Amerins livg the Midwt are now evenly spl over same-sex marriage; 44% favor and 44% oppose allowg gays and lbians to marry legally.

Whe male Prottants and whe Catholics have bee more supportive of gay marriage, though virtually all of the change opn among both groups has e among those who attend servic relatively equently. Across most mographic groups, majori favor allowg gays and lbians to serve openly the ary — and most groups there is more support than 1994.

Opn is more divid among key groups who also oppose same-sex marriage — 47% of Republins favor allowg gays and lbians to serve openly the ary while 43% are opposed.

Support is greater among other relig groups — 68% of whe male Prottants, 68% of Catholics and 66% of the religly unaffiliated favor allowg gays and lbians to serve openly the ary. But they knew om the begng that their bond would be fed on their own terms, cludg what they ll “play” wh other the trial phase of the nstutnal battle to overturn the Proposn 8 ban on same-sex marriage nclus feral urt, gay nuptials are portrayed by opponents as an effort to rewre the tradnal l of matrimony. A study to be released next month is offerg a rare glimpse si gay relatnships and reveals that monogamy is not a central feature for many.

And while that may sound untertuive, some experts say boundary-challengg gay relatnships reprent an evolutn marriage — one that might pot the way for the survival of the rearch at San Francis State Universy reveals jt how mon open relatnships are among gay men and lbians the Bay Area. The Gay Coupl Study has followed 556 male upl for three years — about 50 percent of those surveyed have sex outsi their relatnships, wh the knowledge and approval of their nsent is key. “Wh straight people, ’s lled affairs or cheatg, ” said Colleen Hoff, the study’s prcipal vtigator, “but wh gay people do not have such negative nnotatns.