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President Bill Clinton signed a federal law allowing states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages performed under laws of other states.
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In Alaska, voters approved a constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage. In Hawaii, voters passed an amendment to the state constitution that would allow the Legislature to ban gay marriages.
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Proposition 22 was approved by California voters, which was an initiative that stated marriage should remain reserved for couples of the opposite sex.
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Vermont was the first state that performed civil unions for gay couples, which is a legally recognized union of a same-sex couple, with rights similar to those of marriage.
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President George W. Bush announced his support for a constitutional amendment that banned gay marriage, stating that the measure was the only way to protect the status of mariage between a man and woman.
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Massachusetts was the first state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples as a result of the Supreme Judicial Court ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that it was unconstitutional to allow only straight couples to marry.
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President Barack Obama signed legislation that allowed gays to openly serve in the United States military. Obama encouraged those who were kicked out due to the previous law to re-enlist.
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Governor Pat Quinn signs an Illinois law that went into affect, that allowed civil unions.
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Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer vetoed a bill that gives business owners the right to refuse service to gays, with an allowance of religious freedom for a reason.