No U.S. state recognized same-sex marriages in 2002. Vermont began civil unions, but not same-sex marriages, in July 2000. Massachusetts was the first U.S. state to recognize same-sex marriages and it did so in 2004.
No country in the world legalized same sex marriage in 2007 but the following actions did take place that year:
Marriage equality began in Massachusetts on May 17, 2004.
Yes. On April 22, 2014, seven same-sex couples sued the state of George, challenging the ban on same-sex marriage.
Yes. As of January 2014, six same-sex couples have filed suit to overturn Florida's ban on same-sex marriage.
Yes. Castle v. State. Eleven same-sex couples sued the state on April 1, 2004.Same-sex marriage was legalized in Washington state on November 6, 2012.
A civil marriage license.
Yes. Tanco v. Haslam, filed October 21, 2013 on behalf of four legally married same-sex couples.
There is no such thing as illegally married gay couples. There are only legally married gay couples (with or without state recognition), and unmarried gay couples.
No. The current platform of the Republican Party in Colorado calls for denying same-sex couples the right to marry and legal recognition of their marriages.
Yes. Barrier v. Vasterling, filed on February 12, 2014 on behalf of eight same-sex couples challenging Missouri's refusal to recognize their out-of-state marriages.
Yes. Deborah Harris v. Alaska, filed September 24, 2012. (Alaska denies survivor benefits to same-sex couples.)Also, 5 same-sex couples filed a federal lawsuit challenging Alaska's ban on same-sex marriage on May 12, 2014.
Massachusetts was the first U.S. state to offer marriage to both opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples. However, there is no state in the U.S. that grants married same-sex couples all of the rights that opposite-sex couples have. Not even Massachusetts. This is because our country's federal laws still define marriage between only a man and woman.
Yes. Nelson v. Kansas Department of Revenue, filed on December 30, 2013, by two same-sex married couples are suing the state of Kansas for requiring them to file separate state tax returns as single persons. Both couples were legally married in California.
MassachusettsConnecticutIowaVermontNew HampshireNew YorkWashingtonMaineMarylandCaliforniaDelawareRhode IslandMinnesotaNew JerseyHawaiiNew MexicoIllinois (6/1/14)Oregon (recognition only)Missouri (recognition for purposes of state income tax only)Ohio (recognition only, 4/14/14)Tennessee (3 specific couples only)Indiana (1 specific couple only)Ohio (4 specific couples only)* Washington DC, which is not a state, has also legalized same-sex marriage.Massachusetts Connecticut