Same Sex Marriages By lexyjameson May 18, 1970 Same-Sex Couple Applies for Marriage License Period: May 18, 1970 to Jan 30, 2014 Marriage Equality Nov 21, 1976 Non-Church Sanctioned Gay Wedding Makes News Jan 30, 1983 'Spousal' Rights of Same-Sex Couples Becomes an Issue Oct 10, 1987 Oct. 10, 1987 - First Mass Same-Sex Wedding Ceremony Largest wedding ever held Sep 21, 1996 Clinton Signs Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) May 30, 1997 Hawaii Becomes the First State to Offer Domestic Partnership Benefits to Same-Sex Couples Mar 30, 2000 US Rabbis Approve Gay Partnership Apr 1, 2001 Netherlands Becomes World's First Country to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage Jul 26, 2003 US Supreme Court Strikes Down Sodomy Laws Jul 31, 2003 Vatican Begins Campaign Against Same-Sex Marriage Oct 28, 2003 US President Bush Announces He Wants Marriage Reserved for Heterosexuals May 17, 2004 First Legal Gay Marriage in the United States Feb 4, 2005 State Judge Rules That New York Ban on Same-Sex Marriage Is Illegal Jun 30, 2005 Spain Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage Jul 20, 2005 Canada Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage Feb 23, 2011 US President Barack Obama Declares Defense of Marriage Act Unconstitutional, Directs Department of Justice to Stop Defending the Law in Court Feb 7, 2012 US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Rules CA Proposition 8 Unconstitutional May 8, 2012 President Obama Endorses Same-Sex Marriage Jun 26, 2013 US Supreme Court Finds Key Part of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) Unconstitutional