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Same sex couple Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum marriage was recognized by the Ancient Egyptian kingdom, and were buried together in the same tomb as was the custom for husband and wife.
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Even though the marriage between two Roman males had no legal standing, at least two Roman Emperors were in same-sex unions.
Thirteen of the first fourteen Roman Emperors had bisexual or exclusively homosexual relationships. -
During the Spring-Autumn and Chin-Han Era (770 B.C. to A.D. 24) male same-sex behavior was not a crime or considered immoral.
Same sex unions were celebrated with much elaboration to celebrate the love of two human beings. -
Constantine brought change to how homosexuality was viewed and his sons carried on that on in their leaderships. In 342 AD the Theodosian Code was issued as law prohibiting same-sex marriage in Rome. In 390, men acting in the part of a woman were condemned and publicly burned if found guilty of such acts.
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Possibly first documented same-sex marriage of Pedro Diaz and Muño Vandilaz in Spain by a priest in a small chapel.
Documents were found in the Monastery of San Salvador de Celanova. -
Molly house becomes first gathering place for gays.
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In 1791, Revolutionary France (and Andorra) adopted a new penal code which no longer criminalized sodomy. France thus became the first West European country to decriminalize homosexual acts between consenting adults
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Women dressed an men in order to marry other women.
Lucy Ann Lobdell (Joseph Lobdell) born a woman but lived as a man for 60 years and married Marie Louise Penny in 1861. -
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Oct. 10, 1972: Supreme Court dismisses Baker v. Nelson, a Minnesota case filed by a gay couple seeking to marry, "for want of a substantial federal question."
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Jan. 1, 1973: Maryland becomes the first state to pass a statute banning same-sex marriages.
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May 5, 1993: Hawaii Supreme Court rules that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the Equal Protection Clause of the state Constitution.
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Sept. 21, 1996: President Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which would deny federal benefits to married same-sex couples.
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Dec. 3, 1996: A judge in Hawaii upholds the right of same-sex couples to marry.
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Nov. 3, 1998: Hawaii voters approve a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
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Sept. 22, 1999: California becomes the first state to pass a domestic partnership statute.
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July 1, 2000: Civil unions for same-sex couples become legal in Vermont.
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Nov. 18, 2003: Massachusetts Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health.
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Nov. 2, 2004: Constitutional amendments denying same-sex marriage are passed in 11 states.
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Sept. 6, 2005: California legislators pass a same-sex marriage bill but it is vetoed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. The same thing happens in 2007.
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Nov. 7, 2006: Constitutional amendments banning gay marriage are passed in seven more states.
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May 15, 2008: California Supreme Court strikes down a state law banning same-sex marriage, and gay couples begin marrying a month later.
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Oct. 10, 2008: Connecticut Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage.
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Nov. 4, 2008: California voters approve Proposition 8, which bans gays and lesbians from marrying.
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April 3, 2009: Iowa Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage.
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April 7, 2009: Vermont Legislature overrides Gov. Jim Douglas's veto and approves same-sex marriage.
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May 6, 2009: Maine Gov. John Baldacci signs law legalizing gay marriage.
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June 3, 2009: New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signs law legalizing gay marriage.
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Nov. 3, 2009: Maine voters overturn the state's gay marriage law at the ballot box.
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Dec. 18, 2009: District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty signs law legalizing gay marriage.
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July 8, 2010: U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Tauro in Massachusetts becomes the first to rule that a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional.
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Aug. 4, 2010: California's Proposition 8 is declared unconstitutional in federal district court.
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Feb. 23, 2011: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the Obama administration will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act.
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June 24, 2011: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs law legalizing same-sex marriage, more than doubling the number of Americans living in gay marriage states.
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Feb. 7, 2012: A federal appeals court upholds the ruling that declared California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional.
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Feb. 13, 2012: Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire signs law legalizing same-sex marriage. Opponents delay its implementation until a November referendum.
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Feb. 16, 2012: New Jersey legislators approve same-sex marriage bill, later vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie
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March 1, 2012: Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley signs law legalizing gay marriage, if voters go along in November.
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May 9, 2012: President Obama becomes the first sitting president to announce his support for same-sex marriage.
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May 31, 2012: A federal appeals court in New England upholds lower court rulings against the Defense of Marriage Act.
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June 6, 2012: A federal district judge in New York becomes the fifth to rule against the Defense of Marriage Act. The case, Windsor v. United States, eventually will reach the Supreme Court.
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Oct. 18, 2012: A federal appeals court upholds the New York judge's ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act.
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Nov. 6, 2012: Voters approve constitutional amendments permitting gay marriage in Maine, Maryland and Washington State.
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Nov. 29. 2012: A federal district judge in Nevada upholds the state's ban on gay marriage.
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Dec. 7, 2012: Supreme Court agrees to hear challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act and the ruling against California's Proposition 8.
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March 26-27, 2013: Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the challenge to the Proposition 8 ruling, andUnited States v. Windsor, the challenge to DOMA.
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May 2, 2013: Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee signs same-sex marriage law.
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May 7, 2013: Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signs same-sex marriage law.
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May 14, 2013: Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signs same-sex marriage law.
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June 26, 2013: Supreme Court strikes down a key section of the Defense of Marriage Act and dismisses the challenge to the Proposition 8 ruling, making same-sex marriage legal once again in California.
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Oct. 21, 2013: New Jersey Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage, and Gov. Chris Christie drops his appeal.
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Nov. 13, 2013: Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie signs same-sex marriage law.
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Nov. 20, 2013: Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signs same-sex marriage law.
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Dec. 19, 2013: New Mexico Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage in every county in the state.
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Dec. 20, 2013: U.S. District Judge Robert Shelby strikes down Utah's gay marriage ban; more than 1,000 same-sex couples marry over the next two weeks. With Utah appealing, the Supreme Court on Jan. 6 stops further marriages from taking place.
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Jan. 14, 2014: U.S. District Judge Terence Kern strikes down Oklahoma's gay marriage ban but blocks marriages while the state appeals.
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Feb. 13, 2014: U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen strikes down Virginia's same-sex marriage ban but blocks marriages during the appeal process.
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Feb. 26, 2014: U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia strikes down Texas' gay marriage ban but blocks marriages while the state appeals.
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March 21, 2014: U.S. District Judge Bernard Friedman strikes down Michigan's same-sex marriage ban following a two-week trial. Gay couples marry until the next day, when a federal appeals court puts the ruling on hold.
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May 9, 2014: Arkansas Circuit Judge Chris Piazza strikes down the state's gay marriage ban, and more than 400 couples receive licenses until the ruling is put on hold a week later.
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May 13, 2014: U.S. Magistrate Candy Dale strikes down Idaho's same-sex marriage ban, but the ruling is put on hold.
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May 19, 2014: U.S. District Judge Michael McShane strikes down Oregon's same-sex marriage ban, and the state does not appeal.
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May 20, 2014: U.S. District Judge John Jones strikes down Pennsylvania's gay marriage ban, and the state does not appeal.
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June 6, 2014: U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb strikes down Wisconsin's same-sex marriage ban; couples marry for a week until the decision is put on hold pending appeal.
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June 25, 2014: U.S. District Judge Richard Young strikes down Indiana's same-sex marriage ban, and couples begin marrying that afternoon.
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July 9, 2014: Colorado District Judge Scott Crabtree strikes down the state's gay marriage ban, and the ruling is appealed to the state Supreme Court. Weeks later, a federal district judge also rules against the gay marriage ban, and the state appeals.
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July 17, 2014: U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle strikes down Florida's same-sex marriage ban following several similar rulings by state and county judges. All the rulings have been appealed.
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Sept. 3, 2014: U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman upholds Louisiana's same-sex marriage ban, becoming the first judge to buck the gay marriage trend in nearly two years. Same-sex couples appeal the ruling.
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Oct. 6, 2014: Supreme Court refuses to hear state appeals from Utah, Oklahoma, Virginia, Indiana and Wisconsin, paving the way for gay marriage in six other states that fall within those federal circuits -- Colorado, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Wyoming.
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Nov. 6, 2014: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit upholds same-sex marriage bans in Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. The cases are later appealed to the Supreme Court.
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Nov. 25, 2014: U.S. District Judge Karen Baker strikes down Arkansas' same-sex marriage ban, now on appeal.
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Jan. 12, 2015: U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier strikes down South Dakota's ban on gay marriage, now on appeal.
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March 2, 2015: U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon strikes down Nebraska's gay marriage ban, but the ruling is blocked while on appeal.
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June 26, 2015:The Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage across the United States in a closely divided ruling that will stand as a milestone in its 226-year history.
