On January 23, 2015, U.S. District Judge Callie V.S. Granade ruled in Searcy v. Strangelove that the ban on same-sex marriage in Alabama was unconstitutional. On January 25, Justice Granade suspended her decision for 14 days to allow the state to seek a longer stay from the Eleventh Court of Appeal. [180] A stay was dismissed by the Eleventh District Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court. [181] [182] On January 27, in a second trial, Granade J. ruled in Strawser v. Strangelove in favor of a couple of men seeking the right to marry in Alabama. She maintained her decision to coincide with her stay at Searcy.
[183] With a contradictory order from Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore ordering county officials not to comply with federal rulings, the Association of Probate Judges admitted that Searcy`s executive order, if repealed, would require it to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and said it would encourage its members to comply. [184] One week after the decisions went into effect, the majority of counties began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. [185] [186] In May 2012, Hollande was elected and his Socialist Party won a majority in both houses of the French parliament. True to their election promises, Hollande and the Socialists pushed through a law that not only legalizes same-sex marriage, but also gives gay and lesbian couples the right to adopt children — a provision that has been particularly criticized by French Catholic leaders. Baehr v. Miike in Hawaii gained national attention when, on May 5, 1993, the Hawaii Supreme Court ordered a court to consider whether the state could prove that denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples “furthers compelling state interests and is narrowly designed to avoid unnecessary cuts in constitutional rights.” [16] On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first U.S. state and sixth jurisdiction in the world to prohibit same-sex marriage, following the Supreme Court`s decision in Goodridge v. Department of Health six months earlier. As with the Hawaii decision, the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts provoked a backlash from opponents that led to further legal restrictions enshrined in state laws and constitutions.
The movement to secure marriage rights for same-sex couples continued to grow from that point until lawsuits were filed in late 2014 in all states that were still denying marriage licenses to same-sex couples. A study with national data from January 1999 to December 2015 found that the introduction of same-sex marriage is associated with a significant reduction in the rate of teen suicide attempts, with the effect concentrated on adolescent sexual minors, resulting in an estimated 134,000 fewer teens attempting suicide each year in the United States. A growing number of governments around the world are considering legally recognizing same-sex marriage. So far, 30 countries and territories have passed national laws allowing gays and lesbians to marry, mostly in Europe and America. In Mexico, some jurisdictions allow same-sex couples to marry, while others do not. The financing of campaigns for the amendment referendum has been the subject of great controversy. Both Richter and the IRS have ruled that it is questionable or illegal to protect campaign contributions on condition of anonymity. [103] [104] [105] Congress` response to this decision, in part in anticipation of the upcoming presidential election, led to the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which denied federal recognition of same-sex marriage. President Bill Clinton signed it into law on September 21, 1996.
[17] In November 1998, Hawaiian voters approved a state constitutional amendment that allowed their legislature to ban same-sex marriage,[18][a] and Alaskan voters approved a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. [19] Several states also enacted bans on same-sex marriage in the late 1970s, including Virginia in 1975,[9] and Florida,[10] California,[11] and Wyoming in 1977. [12] Prominent politicians who have moved from opposition to support for same-sex marriage include Republican Senator Rob Portman and Republican Representative Bob Barr (the author of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act). On May 14, 2013, Brazil`s Judicial Council ruled that same-sex couples should not be denied marriage licenses, allowing same-sex marriages to begin nationwide. (Previously, about half of Brazil`s 27 jurisdictions had allowed same-sex marriage.) November 4, 2009 – Maine`s law allowing same-sex marriage is overturned by a “popular veto.” The law was approved by the Maine legislature, but was not implemented after it was repealed by popular vote. Annual polls conducted by Gallup each May in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020 found that support for same-sex marriage is stable, with two-thirds of Americans saying same-sex marriage should be legally recognized as valid (a range of 63% to 67% was recorded). [199] [204] In 2020, 67% of respondents said same-sex marriage should be legally recognized as valid. [205] The most prominent supporters of same-sex marriage are human rights and civil rights organizations, while the most prominent opponents are religious groups. The Obergefell Supreme Court decision came after decades of growing national public support for same-sex marriage in the United States, and support continued to grow thereafter. As a result of the Windsor decision, same-sex married couples – regardless of where they live – receive federal tax benefits (including the ability to file joint tax returns), military benefits, federal labour benefits and immigration benefits.
[27] [28] [29] [30] In February 2014, the Department of Justice extended national recognition of same-sex marriages to include bankruptcies, prison visits, survivors` benefits, and refusal to testify against a spouse. [31] Also in June 2014, family leave benefits under the Family Medical Leave Act, 1975 were extended to same-sex married couples. [32] With respect to Social Security and veterans` benefits, same-sex couples are eligible for full benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). Prior to the Supreme Court`s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, the VA and SSA could provide limited benefits to same-sex married couples living in states where same-sex marriage was not legal. [33] [34] As of March 27, 2015, the definition of spouse under the Family and Medical Leave Act, 1993 includes employees in same-sex marriages, regardless of country of residence. [35] [36] After Obergefell, the Department of Justice extended all domestic matrimonial benefits to same-sex married couples. [15] In the decade before the same-sex marriage law was passed, a number of local jurisdictions, including the capital Buenos Aires, had passed laws allowing gays and lesbians to enter into civil partnerships.
In two other states, Arizona and Florida, voters approved constitutional amendments defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. [40] Northern Ireland was the last part of the United Kingdom where same-sex marriage was banned; England and Wales allowed gay and lesbian couples to marry in 2013 and Scotland followed suit in 2014 (see below).