Author: Amanda

President Barack Obama recently came out in support of gay marriage. Huffington Post quoted him as saying “Not only is it right and fair, but also consistent with our Constitution to recognize same-sex couples, it doesn’t mean that everyone has to agree from a religious standpoint, everyone is supposed to be equal before the law.

15 States Have Legal Same-Sex Marriage
5 by Court Decision California* (June 28, 2013), Connecticut (Nov. 12, 2008), Iowa (Apr. 24, 2009), Massachusetts (May 17, 2004), New Jersey (Oct. 21, 2013)
7 by Court Decision Delaware (July 1, 2013), Hawaii (law will take effect Dec. 2, 2013), Minnesota (Aug. 1, 2013), New Hampshire (Jan. 1, 2010), New York (July 24, 2011), Rhode Island (Aug. 1, 2013), Vermont (Sep. 1, 2009)
3 by Popular Vote Washington, DC legalized same-sex marriage on Mar. 3, 2010.

34 States Ban Same-Sex Marriage
26 by Constitutional Amendment & State Law
Alabama (2006, 1998), Alaska (1998, 1996), Arizona (2008, 1996), Arkansas (2004, 1997), Colorado (2006, 2000), Florida (2008, 1997), Georgia (2004, 1996), Idaho (2006, 1996), Kansas (2005, 1996),
Kentucky (2004, 1998), Louisiana (2004, 1999), Michigan (2004, 1996), Mississippi (2004, 1997), Missouri (2004, 1996), Montana (2004, 1997), North Carolina (2012, 1995), North Dakota (2004, 1997),
Ohio (2004, 2004), Oklahoma (2004, 1996), South Carolina (2006, 1996), South Dakota (2006, 1996), Tennessee (2006, 1996), Texas (2005, 1997), Utah (2004, 1997), Virginia (2006, 1997), Wisconsin (2006, 1979)
3 by Constitutional Amendment Only Nebraska (2000), Nevada (2002), Oregon (2004)
5 by state law only Illinois (1996), Indiana (1997), Pennsylvania (1996), West Virginia (2000), Wyoming (2003)

1 State has no laws banning or
legalizing same-sex marriage—New Mexico

In an article published in the Huffington Post on July 17, 2012 the President of Chick-fil-a, Dan Cathy, said: "I think we are inviting God's judgment on our nation when we shake our fist at Him and say, 'We know better than you as to what constitutes a marriage,' and I pray God's mercy on our generation that has such a prideful, arrogant attitude to think that we have the audacity to try to redefine what marriage is about," which quickly sparked rage with the LGBT advocates and bloggers.

Famous Court Cases

Defense of Marriage Act—DOMA enacted
September 21, 1996
A United States federal law that defines marriage as a “union between a male and female” and allows for states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages that are granted under the law of other states.
Section 3 of DOMA barred same-sex couples from receiving federal benefits, but was ruled unconstitutional in 2013 in the US vs Windsor Supreme Court case.

Baker vs Nelson 1971-72
A male couple in Minnesota sought a marriage license but were denied based on the ground that they were of the same sex. The two appealed to the state and federal courts saying the denial violated many parts of the constitution: the 1st, 8th, 9th, and 14th Amendments.
The United States Supreme Court dismissed the appeal “for want of a substantial federal question.”

United States vs Windsor
In 2009 a female , Edith Windsor, of a same-sex lawful marriage lost her spouse and was left her entire estate. She was denied the estate tax exemption for surviving spouses, DOMA claiming a spouse is one of the opposite sex, and was forced to pay a large amount in taxes. Seeking a refund she filed a court case against the federal government.
The court ruled that Section 3 of DOMA, the section that defines what marriage is, was unconstitutional and violated the 5th Amendment.