Timeline: Same-sex marriage through the years

Richard Wolf | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Supreme Court: Gay marriage legal in all 50 states The U.S. Supreme Court struck down bans on same-sex marriage in a historic 5-4 ruling. The justices ruled that states cannot deny gay men and lesbians the same marriage rights enjoyed for thousands of years by opposite-sex couples.

The path to the Supreme Court has been marked by many same-sex marriage victories and few defeats.

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."

Jan. 1, 1973: Maryland becomes the first state to pass a statute banning same-sex marriages.

May 5, 1993: Hawaii Supreme Court rules that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the Equal Protection Clause of the state Constitution.

Sept. 21, 1996: President Clinton signs the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which would deny federal benefits to married same-sex couples.

Dec. 3, 1996: A judge in Hawaii upholds the right of same-sex couples to marry.

Nov. 3, 1998: Hawaii voters approve a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Sept. 22, 1999: California becomes the first state to pass a domestic partnership statute.

July 1, 2000: Civil unions for same-sex couples become legal in Vermont.

Nov. 18, 2003: Massachusetts Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health.

Nov. 2, 2004: Constitutional amendments denying same-sex marriage are passed in 11 states.

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.

Nov. 7, 2006: Constitutional amendments banning gay marriage are passed in seven more states.

May 15, 2008: California Supreme Court strikes down a state law banning same-sex marriage, and gay couples begin marrying a month later.

Oct. 10, 2008: Connecticut Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage.

Nov. 4, 2008: California voters approve Proposition 8, which bans gays and lesbians from marrying.

April 3, 2009: Iowa Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage.

April 7, 2009: Vermont Legislature overrides Gov. Jim Douglas's veto and approves same-sex marriage.

May 6, 2009: Maine Gov. John Baldacci signs law legalizing gay marriage.

June 3, 2009: New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch signs law legalizing gay marriage.

Nov. 3, 2009: Maine voters overturn the state's gay marriage law at the ballot box.

Dec. 18, 2009: District of Columbia Mayor Adrian Fenty signs law legalizing gay marriage.

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.

Aug. 4, 2010: California's Proposition 8 is declared unconstitutional in federal district court.

Feb. 23, 2011: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the Obama administration will no longer defend the Defense of Marriage Act.

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.

Feb. 7, 2012: A federal appeals court upholds the ruling that declared California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional.

Feb. 13, 2012: Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire signs law legalizing same-sex marriage. Opponents delay its implementation until a November referendum.

Feb. 16, 2012: New Jersey legislators approve same-sex marriage bill, later vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie.

March 1, 2012: Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley signs law legalizing gay marriage, if voters go along in November.

May 9, 2012: President Obama becomes the first sitting president to announce his support for same-sex marriage.

May 31, 2012: A federal appeals court in New England upholds lower court rulings against the Defense of Marriage Act.

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.

Oct. 18, 2012: A federal appeals court upholds the New York judge's ruling against the Defense of Marriage Act.

Nov. 6, 2012: Voters approve constitutional amendments permitting gay marriage in Maine, Maryland and Washington State.

Nov. 29. 2012: A federal district judge in Nevada upholds the state's ban on gay marriage.

Dec. 7, 2012: Supreme Court agrees to hear challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act and the ruling against California's Proposition 8.

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.

May 2, 2013: Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee signs same-sex marriage law.

May 7, 2013: Delaware Gov. Jack Markell signs same-sex marriage law.

May 14, 2013: Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signs same-sex marriage law.

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.

Oct. 21, 2013: New Jersey Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage, and Gov. Chris Christie drops his appeal.

Nov. 13, 2013: Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie signs same-sex marriage law.

Nov. 20, 2013: Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn signs same-sex marriage law.

Dec. 19, 2013: New Mexico Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage in every county in the state.

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.

Jan. 14, 2014: U.S. District Judge Terence Kern strikes down Oklahoma's gay marriage ban but blocks marriages while the state appeals.

Feb. 12, 2014: U.S. District Judge John Heyburn says Kentucky must recognize marriages of gay couples performed in other states.

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.

Feb. 26, 2014: U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia strikes down Texas' gay marriage ban but blocks marriages while the state appeals.

March 14, 2014: U.S; District Judge Aleta Trauger says Tennessee must recognize three same-sex marriages from other states.

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.

April 14, 2014: U.S. District Judge Timothy Black says Ohio must recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

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.

May 13, 2014: U.S. Magistrate Candy Dale strikes down Idaho's same-sex marriage ban, but the ruling is put on hold.

May 19, 2014: U.S. District Judge Michael McShane strikes down Oregon's same-sex marriage ban, and the state does not appeal.

May 20, 2014: U.S. District Judge John Jones strikes down Pennsylvania's gay marriage ban, and the state does not appeal.

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.

June 25, 2014: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upholds the ruling against Utah's gay marriage ban, but the ruling is blocked pending an appeal to the Supreme Court.

June 25, 2014: U.S. District Judge Richard Young strikes down Indiana's same-sex marriage ban, and couples begin marrying that afternoon.

July 1, 2014: The Kentucky court ruling on out-of-state marriages is expanded to legalize all gay marriages in the state, but it's delayed while on appeal.

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.

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.

July 18, 2014: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upholds lower court ruling that struck down Oklahoma's gay marriage ban, and the case is appealed to the Supreme Court.

July 28, 2014: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit upholds a trial court ruling that struck down Virginia's gay marriage ban. The state later appeals to the Supreme Court.

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.

Sept. 4, 2014: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit upholds decisions from Indiana and Wisconsin that struck down those states' gay marriage bans. The ruling is later appealed to the Supreme Court.

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.

Oct. 7, 2014: U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit strikes down gay marriage bans in Idaho and Nevada, paving the way for similar rulings in Alaska, Arizona and Montana.

Oct. 21, 2014: U.S. District Judge Juan Manuel Perez-Giminez upholds Puerto Rico's ban against same-sex marriage.

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.

Nov. 25, 2014: U.S. District Judge Karen Baker strikes down Arkansas' same-sex marriage ban, now on appeal.

Nov. 25, 2014: U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves strikes down Mississippi's gay marriage ban, now on appeal.

Jan. 6, 2015: Gay couples in Florida begin marrying after a stay on an August court decision expires.

Jan. 12, 2015: U.S. District Judge Karen Schreier strikes down South Dakota's ban on gay marriage, now on appeal.

Jan. 16, 2015: Supreme Court agrees to hear six consolidated cases from all four states where same-sex marriage bans were upheld in November -- Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee.

Jan. 23, 2015: U.S. District Judge Callie Granade strikes down Alabama's gay marriage ban but blocks the ruling from taking effect for weeks. The state's petition for an appeal was not granted.

Feb. 9, 2015: Gay marriage takes effect in Alabama but is immediately blocked by order of the state Supreme Court.

March 2, 2015: U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon strikes down Nebraska's gay marriage ban, but the ruling is blocked while on appeal.

April 28, 2015: Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Obergefell v. Hodges, a group of six consolidated cases challenging same-sex marriage bans in Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee and Kentucky.

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.

Source: USA TODAY research, Freedom to Marry