What is the history of same-sex marriage?

Answer 1

Same-sex marriage was first outlawed in the Roman Empire in 342 CE. There was some experimentation with liturgical blessing of "brotherhoods" between two unmarried males in the middle ages. In the 1970s, there was a male-male couple in Minnesota that sued for the right to marry, but their case was dismissed by the US Supreme Court. Also in the 1970s, the state of California changed all of their statutes to gender-neutral language, which some viewed as a loophole to allow same-sex marriage, but the loophole was closed by the legislature. In 1989, Denmark began registering civil partnerships of same-sex couples. In the 1990s, there was some talk of Hawaii possibly legalizing same-sex marriage and the US Congress responded by passing the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act ("DOMA") which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage and permits states to do the same. In 2000, Vermont began issuing civil union certificates to same-sex couples and treating them the same as legal marriages. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage. In 2004, Massachusetts became the first US state to legalize same-sex marriage. Since then, several other states and countries have enacted marriage equality. In 2013, the constitutionality of DOMA is schedule to be reviewed by the US Supreme Court.