The Year of Marriage Equality
On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court, in a 5–4 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, determined that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to legally marry, striking down bans in 13 states and Puerto Rico. In jubilant celebrations outside the high court, equality advocates cheered the decision. Immediately, couples previously denied marriage licenses sought out courthouses, clerks, and local government offices in hopes of tying the knot. “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family,” Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote in the majority opinion. The plaintiffs “ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right.”
Marriage bans had been falling like dominoes since the previous fall, when the Supremes declined to hear appeals of lower court decisions striking down bans in five states, therefore letting those decisions stand. Other states within those federal court circuits followed suit in adopting equal marriage rights, and more appellate courts struck down marriage bans. But when the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld bans in Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, differing with other appellate courts, it assured that the Supreme Court would have to settle the question. The high court heard oral arguments April 28, and we waited anxiously until the decision came down in June — leading to victory celebrations and weddings around the nation.
Click through for photos from the year of marriage equality.
Knol Aust and Duane Smith apply for a marriage license in Jackson, Miss.
George Harris, 82, and Jack Evans, 85, are the first same-sex couple to wed in Dallas County, Texas.
Jennifer Hudson surprises Chris and Scott Lindsey by performing “I Still Love You” during their wedding in Dallas.
Carrie Fisher of the Gourmet Cupcake Shoppe decorates a cake in Midland, Mich.
David Turley and Peter Thiede display their wedding bands in front of New York City’s Stonewall Inn after getting married by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. New York has been a marriage equality state since 2011.
Angela Boyle and Laura Zinszer receive their marriage license in Columbia, Mo.
Plaintiffs and lawyers leave the Supreme Court in April.
Couples wait to wed at Unitarian Universalist Church of Fort Myers, Fla., in January. Marriage equality came to Florida before the Supreme Court's action, as a federal judge struck down the state's ban in August 2014. After state officials exhausted their delaying tactics, the ruling went into effect January 6.
John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney kiss at City Hall in San Francisco.
Anan Farooqi at Pride in New York.
Tori Sisson and Shanté Wolfe at their wedding in Montgomery, Ala.; they were the first couple to file their marriage license.
Sanaz Faith and Marta Bier and children after receiving their marriage license in Austin.
Michael Robinson and Earl Benjamin exchange vows in New Orleans; they were the first same-sex couple to get married in Louisiana.
Traci Bliss Panzner, Julie Ann Lake, David Terrasi, and Victor Pafford apply for marriage licenses in Bay City, Mich.
Takya Browning, president of Augusta Pride, takes a selfie with marriage equality supporters in Augusta, Ga., June 26.
Human Rights Campaign president Chad Griffin and lead plaintiff Jim Obergefell cheer during a press conference at the Texas State Capitol in Austin.
Sergio March and husband Havard Scott speak to the media outside the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans in January. The appeals court, which covers Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas, heard arguments on marriage equality that month, but it didn't rule before the Supreme Court did, rendering the issue moot.
Attorney Mary Bonauto, civil rights project director for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, shares the news outside the Supreme Court in Washington, after the court declared that same-sex couples have a right to marry anywhere in the U.S. Bonauto was one of the attorneys who argued for marriage equality at the court in April.
A same-sex couple hold matching bouquets as they are married in Jacksonville, Fla., in January.
Marge Eide, 77, and Ann Sorrell, 78, a couple for 43 years, embrace before exchanging vows in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Rebekah Monson and Andrea Vigil wed at the marriage license bureau in Miami in January.
The White House illuminated with rainbow colors in commemoration of the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Cindy Jackson and Denise Niewinsky, and Thomas Kirdahy and Terrence McNally — the famous playwright — were married by Mayor Bill de Blasio on the steps of New York City Hall. New York was already a marriage equality state, but the couples and the mayor joined in the celebration of the Supreme Court ruling with the June 26 ceremonies.
Terrence McNally and Thomas Kirdahy kiss after being married by Mayor Bill de Blasio on the steps of New York City Hall.
Newlywed Thomas Kirdahy jumps for joy after being wed to Terrence McNally. They and two other couples, Cindy Jackson and Denise Niewinsky (foreground) and Sarah Joseph and Katrina Council (background), were married by Mayor Bill de Blasio on the steps of New York City Hall.
Catrina Burks is assisted up the steps at her wedding to Marashette Burks in Kalamazoo, Mich.
