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The Rise and Fall of the Defense of Marriage Act

  • Marvel Comics Northstar comes out in Alpha Flight 106

    Mrvel Comics's Canadian superhero and future X-Men Jean-Paul "Northstar" Beaubier officially comes out as gay in the pages of Alpha Flight #106.
  • President Clinton signs DOMA into law

    President Bill Clinton signs into law the Defense of Marriage Act, making the definition of marriage for federal purposes solely between one man and one woman. The law also allow each state to decide whether it will recognize another state's same-sex marriage, which there are none at this time.
  • Massachusetts Becomes First U.S. State to Allow Same-Sex Marriage

  • Lambda Legal won NJ court case

  • NJ Governor Corzine states his "preference" is civil unions but would sign a same-sex marriage bill

  • NJ Chapter 103, P.L. 2006 enacted making Civil Unions

  • First day of NJ Civil Unions

  • Thea Clara Spyer and Edith Schlain Windsor married in Toronto, Canada

  • Commision report released that says NJ civil unions are not equal to marriages.

  • Governor Corzine says now will sign gay marriage bill but after 2008 Presidential Election

  • Thea Clara Spyer dies.

    Thea Clara Spyer dies of aortic stenosis leaving Edith Windosr a widow.
  • Northstar gets married Astonishing X-Men 51

  • Northstar faces DOMA Astonishing X-Men 56

  • NJ Governor Chris Christie veto gay marriage

  • SCOTUS DOMA Oral Arguments

  • Christie says he'd veto same-sex marriage bill a second time

  • U.S. Supreme Court rules Article 3 of DOMA is unconstitutional

    United States Supreme Court rules in Unted States v. Windsor 5 to 4 thet the federal government must extend all the same benefits to same-sex marred couples as they currently do to opposite-sex married couples.
  • Federal Immigration judge stops deportation of same-sex spouse

    A federal immigration judge stops deportation of Columbian immigrant Steven Infante and allows him to remain with his American husband Sean Brooks as a legal permanent resident enlight of United States v. Windsor decision earlier that morning.
  • INS approves first same-sex spousal green card

    INS issues approval for a spousal green card to Bulgarian Traian Popov that was sponsored by his American husband Julian Marsh, the first same-sex binational spouse to receive one.