Same-sex marriage in Alaska

Last updated

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Alaska since October 12, 2014, with an interruption from October 15 to 17 while state officials sought without success to delay the implementation of a federal court ruling. The U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska held on October 12 in the case of Hamby v. Parnell that Alaska's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriage violated the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the U.S. Constitution. On October 15, state officials obtained a two-day stay from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which the U.S. Supreme Court refused to extend on October 17. Although Alaska is one of a few states which enforces a three-day waiting period between requesting a marriage license and conducting a marriage ceremony, at least one same-sex couple had the waiting period waived immediately after the district court's ruling. They married in Utqiagvik on October 13 and were the first same-sex couple to marry in Alaska.

Contents

Statute

After the Hawaii Supreme Court seemed poised to legalize same-sex marriage in Hawaii in Baehr v. Miike in 1993, Representative Norm Rokeberg introduced legislation (House Bill 227) to the Alaska House of Representatives in March 1995 to add language restricting marriage to "the union of one man and one woman" in state statutes. The bill passed the House in February 1996. In March 1996, Senator Lynda Green introduced Senate Bill 30 in the Alaska Senate, which restricted marriage to "a civil contract between one man and one woman" and forbade the recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. It passed the Senate and the House shortly thereafter. [1] Governor Tony Knowles did not veto the bill, but allowed it to become law without his signature on May 6, 1996. [2]

In February 2016, a bill to codify same-sex marriage in state statutes was introduced to the Alaska Legislature. It would have replaced all references to "husband and wife" across state statutes with the gender-neutral term "spouses". Representative Andy Josephson said that Obergefell v. Hodges , the U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage, was "not reflected in state laws". [3] The bill died without a vote. A similar bill was introduced in January 2017, but also died without a vote. [4]

Constitution

In 1998, the Alaska Legislature passed Ballot Measure 2, a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, which was approved in a popular referendum on November 3, 1998. [5] The amendment passed with 68% in favor and 32% opposed. [6] The Alaska Civil Liberties Union attempted to prevent the referendum from proceeding, but in August 1998 the Alaska Superior Court held that the proposed referendum and accompanying ballot description were legally permissible. [1]

Representative Andy Josephson filed a bill to repeal the ban in January 2023, which if approved would have been presented to voters in November 2024. Citing the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization , which overturned Roe v. Wade , in June 2022, Josephson said, "The Supreme Court for the first time in history, has removed civil rights. And we would be foolish to just watch them do it and not intervene to protect the civil liberties of our own citizens." [7] The bill failed to pass before the end of the legislative session.

Lawsuits

Brause v. Alaska

In August 1994, Jay Brause and Gene Dugan, a same-sex couple from Anchorage, filed an application for a marriage license, which was denied by the Alaska Office of Vital Statistics. They filed suit in the Alaska Superior Court, arguing that their rights to privacy and equal protection both of which are referenced in the Alaska Constitution  were violated by the office's refusal to allow them to marry. [1] Superior Court Judge Peter Michalski ruled in February 1998 that "marriage, i.e., the recognition of one's choice of a life partner, is a fundamental right" and that "the state must...have a compelling interest that supports its decision to refuse to recognize the exercise of this fundamental right by those who choose same-sex partners rather than opposite-sex partners." [1] Although the decision favored a right to same-sex marriage, it did not legalize the practice in the state or abolish Alaska's statutory ban on same-sex marriage. Rather, Judge Michalski directed the parties to set further hearings to determine whether a compelling state interest could be shown for Alaska's ban on same-sex marriage. [8] Following the passage of Measure 2 in November 1998, the Alaska Supreme Court invalidated Brause and Dugan's claims, overturned the Superior Court's ruling in Brause, and dismissed the suit. [1] [9]

Brause and Dugan were married in Alaska 21 years later, on September 19, 2015, after the state's same-sex marriage ban was struck down in federal district court. Their wedding was held at the Pioneer School House in Anchorage. The couple married in Portland, Oregon in 2004 after Multnomah County began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but the marriage was later annulled by the Oregon Supreme Court. They also held marriage ceremonies in South Africa in 2006 and in Yukon in 2007. [10]

Schmidt and Schuh v. Alaska

On April 25, 2014, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the state must provide property tax exemptions to same-sex couples just as to married opposite-sex couples. The decision said: "For purposes of analyzing the effects of the exemption program, we hold that committed same-sex domestic partners who would enter into marriages recognized in Alaska if they could are similarly situated to those opposite-sex couples who, by marrying, have entered into domestic partnerships formally recognized in Alaska". [11] On July 25, it ruled that denying survivor benefits to a deceased person's same-sex partner violated the survivor's right to equal protection. [12]

Hamby v. Parnell

On May 12, 2014, five same-sex couples filed a lawsuit in federal district court, challenging the state's same-sex marriage ban. [13] The suit named Governor Sean Parnell as the primary defendant. [14] The state's brief, filed on June 19, said that the questions the plaintiffs raised were political, not legal. It said that under the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution "Alaska has the right as a sovereign state to define and regulate marriage" and "Alaska voters had a fundamental right to decide the important public policy issue of whether to alter the traditional definition of marriage as between one man and one woman." [15] District Court Judge Timothy Burgess heard oral arguments on October 10. [16]

On October 12, 2014, less than a week after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review similar cases from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, Latta v. Otter and Sevcik v. Sandoval , Judge Burgess ruled for the plaintiffs and declared Alaska's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. [17] He issued an injunction effective immediately. [18] The same day, Governor Parnell announced that he would appeal the ruling and "defend our constitution". The head of the state Bureau of Vital Statistics commented: "The license application begins the three-day waiting period before the license can be issued. All marriages in Alaska must have the marriage license issued before the ceremony is performed. We expect our office will be busy tomorrow [October 13] but we will make every effort to help customers as quickly as possible." [19] In Utqiagvik, Magistrate Mary Treiber waived the state's three-day waiting period and married Kristine Hilderbrand and Sarah Ellis on October 13. They were the first same-sex couple to marry in Alaska. [20]

On October 13, the state asked the district court to issue a stay pending appeal, which was denied. [21] On October 15, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the state's request for an indefinite stay, granting instead a temporary stay until October 17 to allow Alaska to attempt to obtain a longer stay from the U.S. Supreme Court. [22] [23] The Supreme Court denied a stay and same-sex couples resumed obtaining marriage licenses following the dissolution of the Ninth Circuit's temporary stay on October 17. [24] On October 22, the appellants asked the Ninth Circuit for an initial hearing en banc . [25] This request was denied on November 18, when no circuit judge called for a vote on the motion within the time period set by circuit rules. [26]

On December 4, Attorney General Craig W. Richards was reported to be reviewing the case. Governor Bill Walker, who took office on December 1, said in a statement that he opposed spending on litigation with little chance of success. [27] On February 9, 2015, the state asked the Ninth Circuit to stay proceedings pending action by the U.S. Supreme Court in Obergefell v. Hodges . [28] The court did so on February 27. Following the ruling in Obergefell legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide in the United States on June 26, 2015, the Ninth Circuit accepted on July 1 a joint notice to dismiss the appeal, filed by the state and the plaintiffs. [29]

Smith v. Dunleavy et al

In 2019, Denali Nicole Smith filed suit in federal district court, alleging that the state was unlawfully enforcing statutes barring the recognition of same-sex marriages. Attorneys for Smith said she had been denied application for a state oil-wealth fund check, the Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD), because of her same-sex marriage. The lawsuit named Governor Mike Dunleavy and Attorney General Kevin Clarkson as defendants. [30] [31] In response, Governor Dunleavy said that "despite recent media reports to the contrary, neither the State of Alaska nor the Department of Revenue have a policy of denying PFDs based on same-sex marital status. The State's policy is that the unconstitutional statute currently on the books is not enforced, and if an individual is eligible under all the lawful criteria, he or she will receive a PFD." [32] Attorney General Clarkson similarly stated that Smith should be eligible for a PFD, and the Department of Law opened an investigation into the case. [33] [34] Nicole Smith settled with the state, and the case was dismissed with prejudice by Judge H. Russel Holland on April 15, 2021.

Alaska Native tribal entities

The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska became the first tribal government in Alaska to legalize same-sex marriage, when its governing board voted unanimously in February 2015 to legalize same-sex marriage on their sovereign lands. The Council will also be responsible for any related divorces that may arise. [35] While there are no records of same-sex marriages as understood from a Western perspective being performed among Alaska's indigenous peoples, there is evidence for identities and behaviours that may be placed on the LGBT spectrum. Many of these cultures recognized two-spirit individuals who were born male but wore women's clothing and performed everyday household work and artistic handiwork which were regarded as belonging to the feminine sphere. [36] This two-spirit status allowed for marriages between two biological males or two biological females to be performed among some of these tribes. On the Pacific Northwest Coast, many indigenous peoples recognize such two-spirit individuals. The Tlingit refer to them as ḵʼatx̱áan (pronounced [qʼʌ̀tʰχɒ́ːn] ), [37] the Haida people as ḵʼadx̱áan (pronounced [qʼʌ̀d̥χáːn] ), [38] and the Tsimshian as ma̱hana̱'a̱x (pronounced [mɒhæˈnɒʔɒχ] ). [39]

Among the Aleut, an indigenous people living on the Aleutian Islands, two-spirit individuals wore women's clothing and "copied all aspects of the feminine role", with such authenticity that "strangers to the tribe were not able to distinguish them from biological women". They are known in their language as ayagigux̂ (pronounced [ˌajaˈɣiɣoχ] ). Marriages between ayagigux̂ and cisgender men, often a tribal chief, were commonplace, suggesting that such marriages had prestige value, "The husband regarded his ayagigux̂ as a major social accomplishment, and the family profited from association with their new wealthy in-law." Wealthy Aleut men usually maintained polygynous marriages, and so it is likely that the ayagigux̂ were not exclusive wives, but rather part of a polygynous marital relationship. [36] [40] Among the Yup'ik, male-bodied two-spirit people are known as arnaruaq (pronounced [ˈaʁnaʁu.aq] , while female-bodied two-spirit people are known as angutnguaq (pronounced [aˈŋutŋ̊u.aq] ). [41] On St. Lawrence Island, two-spirit individuals, known as aghnaasiq (pronounced [ɑʁˈnɑːsiq] ), [42] wore women's clothing and occupied a cultural position as shamans, and were "regarded as especially powerful". The aghnaasiq could marry either men or women. [36] The Alutiiq living on Kodiak Island believed that two-spirit individuals, known as arnauciq (pronounced [ˈaχˈnautʃiq] ), [43] were "two persons united in one", that they were more gifted than ordinary people and more skilled "at the respective tasks of both sexes than either men or women". The arnauciq probably did not wear women's clothing, but rather men's clothing. [36]

Demographics and marriage statistics

Data from the 2000 U.S. census showed that 1,180 same-sex couples were living in Alaska. By 2005, this had increased to 1,644 couples, likely attributed to same-sex couples' growing willingness to disclose their partnerships on government surveys. Same-sex couples lived in all boroughs and census areas of the state, and constituted 0.9% of coupled households and 0.5% of all households in the state. Most couples lived in Anchorage, Fairbanks North Star and Matanuska-Susitna boroughs, but the regions with the highest percentage of same-sex couples were Denali (0.9% of all county households) and Bethel (0.8%). Same-sex partners in Alaska were on average younger than opposite-sex partners, and more likely to be employed. However, the average and median household incomes of same-sex couples were lower than different-sex couples, and same-sex couples were also far less likely to own a home than opposite-sex partners. More than 44% of same-sex couples in Alaska were raising children under the age of 18, with an estimated 1,335 children living in households headed by same-sex couples in 2005. [44]

At least 641 same-sex marriages had been conducted in Alaska by the end of 2022. The 2020 U.S. census, which asked residents whether they were living with a "same-sex husband/wife/spouse", [lower-alpha 1] showed that there were 1,236 married same-sex couple households (466 male couples and 770 female couples) and 788 unmarried same-sex couple households in Alaska. [49]

Number of marriages performed in Alaska
YearSame-sexOpposite-sexUnspecified% same-sex
2014315,469720.56%
2015 [50] 885,2391711.60%
2016 [51] 815,0451561.53%
2017 [52] 784,9241301.52%
2018 [53] 784,7561151.58%
2019 [54] 714,5291741.49%
2020 [55] 613,8842321.46%
2021 [56] 744,3052561.60%
2022 [57] 814,4252991.69%

State employee benefits and partnerships

Alaska Civil Liberties Union v. Alaska

On October 28, 2005, the Supreme Court of Alaska ruled in Alaska Civil Liberties Union v. Alaska that state and local government programs violated the Alaska Constitution's equal protection provision by extending benefits to public employees' spouses but denying these same benefits to employees' domestic partners. The court held the programs unconstitutional because they denied benefits to people who are precluded, under Alaska's marriage laws, from becoming eligible to receive them. [58]

On November 17, 2006, the Alaska House of Representatives voted 24–10 in favor of legislation ordering a non-binding referendum for a constitutional amendment to deny benefits to the same-sex partners of state employees. On November 20, the Alaska Senate passed the bill in a 12–3 vote, and Governor Sarah Palin signed it into law on December 20. [59] [60] On April 3, 2007, Alaska voters, with 52.8% in favor and 48.8% opposed, directed the Alaska Legislature to put a constitutional amendment denying benefits to the same-sex partners of state employees on the ballot. A bill to place such an amendment on the November 2008 ballot stalled, [61] and was eventually never voted on. [62]

Since January 1, 2007, Alaska has provided some limited benefits to the same-sex partners of state employees. [63]

Domestic partnerships

The city of Juneau provides domestic partnership benefits to same-sex couples. [64]

Public opinion

Opinion polls show that a majority of Alaskans support same-sex marriage. A December 2016 survey conducted by the Alaska Survey Research for the Anchorage Dispatch News showed that 69% of Alaskans supported same-sex marriage, while 23.5% were opposed and 7.5% were undecided. Support was strongest in Southeast Alaska at 76.3%, and in Anchorage at 75.8%. 85.4% of Democrats supported same-sex marriage, while 13% were opposed, and 49.8% of Republicans supported it, with 40.9% opposed. [65]

Public opinion for same-sex marriage in Alaska
Poll sourceDate(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin of
error
 % support % opposition % no opinion
Public Religion Research Institute March 11 – December 14, 2022  ? ?70%30%<0.5%
Public Religion Research Institute March 8 – November 9, 2021  ? ?72%28%<0.5%
Public Religion Research Institute January 7 – December 20, 2020 186 random telephone
interviewees
 ?93%3%4%
Public Religion Research Institute April 5 – December 23, 2017 287 random telephone
interviewees
 ?57%34%9%
Alaska Survey Research/Alaska Dispatch December 2016750 random telephone
interviewees
± 3.6%69%23.5%7.5%
Public Religion Research Institute May 18, 2016 – January 10, 2017 573 random telephone
interviewees
 ?54%36%10%
Public Religion Research Institute April 29, 2015 – January 7, 2016 710 random telephone
interviewees
 ?60%34%6%
Edison Research November 4, 2014 ? ?55%41%4%
56%41%3%
56%41%3%
New York Times/CBS News/YouGov September 20 – October 1, 2014593 likely voters± 5%50%36%14%
Public Policy Polling July 31 – August 3, 2014673 voters± 3.8%49%45%6%
Public Policy Polling May 8–11, 2014582 registered voters± 4.1%52%43%5%
Public Religion Research Institute April 2, 2014 – January 4, 2015 338 ?54%35%11%
Public Policy Polling January 30 – February 1, 2014850 registered voters± 3.4%47%46%7%
Public Policy Polling February 4–5, 20131,129 voters± 2.9%43%51%6%

See also

Notes

  1. In Alaska, the cenus was translated into four indigenous languages to aid in reaching rural communities and obtain a complete and accurate count. The term used to ask residents if they were living with a same-sex spouse in Central Alaskan Yup'ik was arnaullgutminek/angutngullgutminek kassuucimalutek. [45] In Gwichʼin, it was dinjii, nich’it hàa nihłeegaadii. [46] In Koyukon, it was denaa/sołt’aanh – neełkke’l nee’eeltaan kkaa, [47] and in Iñupiaq, it was aipagiik agnaq/agnaq aŋun/aŋun. [48]

Related Research Articles

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The availability of legally recognized same-sex marriage in the United States expanded from one state (Massachusetts) in 2004 to all fifty states in 2015 through various court rulings, state legislation, and direct popular votes. States each have separate marriage laws, which must adhere to rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States that recognize marriage as a fundamental right guaranteed by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as first established in the 1967 landmark civil rights case of Loving v. Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1998 Alaska Measure 2</span>

Ballot Measure 2 of 1998 is a ballot measure, since ruled unconstitutional, that added an amendment to the Alaska Constitution that prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriage in Alaska. The Ballot measure was sparked by the lawsuit filed by Jay Brause and Gene Dugan, after the two men were denied a marriage license by the Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics. In Brause v. Bureau of Vital Statistics, 1998 WL 88743, the Alaska Superior Court ruled that the state needed compelling reason to deny marriage licenses to same-sex couples and ordered a trial on the question. In response, the Alaska Legislature immediately proposed and passed Resolution 42, which became what is now known as Ballot Measure 2. Ballot Measure 2 passed via public referendum on November 3, 1998, with 68% of voters supporting and 32% opposing. The Bause case was dismissed following the passage of the ballot measure.

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Colorado since October 7, 2014. Colorado's state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was struck down in state district court on July 9, 2014, and by the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado on July 23, 2014. The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals had already made similar rulings with respect to such bans in Utah on June 25 and Oklahoma on July 18, which are binding precedents on courts in Colorado. On October 6, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the Tenth Circuit cases, and the Tenth Circuit lifted its stay. On October 7, the Colorado Supreme Court and the Tenth Circuit cleared the way for same-sex marriages to begin in Colorado.

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Wyoming since October 21, 2014. The U.S. state of Wyoming had previously prohibited state recognition of same-sex marriages by statute since 1977 and had enacted a more explicit ban in 2003. An attempt to enact legislation recognizing domestic partnerships as an alternative to marriage for same-sex couples failed in 2013. On October 17, 2014, a federal district court found the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. Its ruling took effect on October 21 when state officials notified the court that they would not appeal the decision.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Utah since October 6, 2014. On December 20, 2013, the state began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as a result of the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah's ruling in the case of Kitchen v. Herbert, which found that barring same-sex couples from marrying violates the U.S. Constitution. The issuance of those licenses was halted during the period of January 6, 2014 until October 6, 2014, following the resolution of a lawsuit challenging the state's ban on same-sex marriage. On that day, following the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear an appeal in a case that found Utah's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the state to recognize same-sex marriage.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Arizona since October 17, 2014. The U.S. state had denied marriage rights to same-sex couples by statute since 1996 and by an amendment to its State Constitution approved by voters in 2008. On October 17, Judge John W. Sedwick ruled in two lawsuits that Arizona's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional, and enjoined the state from enforcing its ban, effective immediately. Attorney General Tom Horne said the state would not appeal that ruling, and instructed county clerks to comply and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Same-sex marriage has been recognized in Montana since a federal district court ruled the state's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional on November 19, 2014. Montana had previously denied marriage rights to same-sex couples by statute since 1997 and in its State Constitution since 2004. The state appealed the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, but before that court could hear the case, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all same-sex marriage bans in the country in Obergefell v. Hodges, mooting any remaining appeals.

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Same-sex marriage has been legal in South Carolina since a federal court order took effect on November 20, 2014. Another court ruling on November 18 had ordered the state to recognize same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions. Following the 2014 ruling of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Bostic v. Schaefer, which found Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional and set precedent on every state in the circuit, one judge accepted marriage license applications from same-sex couples until the South Carolina Supreme Court, in response to a request by the Attorney General, ordered him to stop. A federal district court ruled South Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional on November 12, with implementation of that decision stayed until noon on November 20. The first same-sex wedding ceremony was held on November 19.

Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in West Virginia since October 9, 2014. On July 28, 2014, a ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Bostic v. Schaefer found Virginia's ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional. On October 6, 2014, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Bostic, allowing the ruling to take effect. As a result, on October 9, 2014, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin announced he was ordering state agencies to act in compliance with the controlling precedent in the Virginia case. Even though West Virginia's ban had not been explicitly declared unconstitutional, the Fourth Circuit precedent made it certain the state's statutory ban would be overturned. The state started issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples that same day. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia officially ruled the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional on November 7, 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT rights in Alaska</span>

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in the U.S. state of Alaska may face some legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT Alaskans. Since 1980, same-sex sexual conduct has been allowed, and same-sex couples can marry since October 2014. The state offers few legal protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, leaving LGBT people vulnerable to discrimination in housing and public accommodations; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBT people is illegal under federal law. In addition, four Alaskan cities, Anchorage, Juneau, Sitka and Ketchikan, representing about 46% of the state population, have passed discrimination protections for housing and public accommodations.

Alaska Civil Liberties Union v. State of Alaska, 122 P.3d 781, is an Alaska Supreme Court case holding that Alaska's Ballot Measure 2, which bans same-sex marriage, does not foreclose state equal protection claims brought on behalf of same-sex couples.

This article contains a timeline of significant events regarding same-sex marriage in the United States. On June 26, 2015, the landmark US Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges effectively ended restrictions on same-sex marriage in the United States.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Virginia since October 6, 2014, following the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in Bostic v. Schaefer. Same-sex marriages subsequently began at 1:00 p.m. on October 6 after the Fourth Circuit issued its mandate, and since then Virginia has performed legal marriages of same-sex couples and recognized out-of-state same-sex marriages. Previously, the state had passed a statute prohibiting same-sex marriage in 1975, and further restrictions were added in 1997 and 2004, which made "void and unenforceable" any arrangements between same-sex couples bestowing the "privileges or obligations of marriage". Voters approved an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia reinforcing the existing laws in 2006. On January 14, 2014, a U.S. district court judge ruled in Bostic that Virginia's statutory and constitutional ban on the state recognition of same-sex marriages were unconstitutional, a decision upheld by the Fourth Circuit on July 28, 2014.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Kentucky since the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015. The decision, which struck down Kentucky's statutory and constitutional bans on same-sex marriages, was handed down on June 26, 2015, and Governor Steve Beshear and Attorney General Jack Conway announced almost immediately that the court's order would be implemented.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Mississippi since June 26, 2015. On November 25, 2014, U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi ruled that Mississippi's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Enforcement of his ruling was stayed pending appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples violates the U.S. Constitution. On June 29, Attorney General Jim Hood ordered clerks to comply with the court ruling and issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The Fifth Circuit lifted its stay on July 1, and Judge Reeves ordered an end to Mississippi's enforcement of its same-sex marriage ban. However, until July 2, 2015, several counties in Mississippi continued to refuse to issue marriage licenses, including DeSoto, Jasper, Jones, Newton, Pontotoc, Simpson and Yalobusha.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Arkansas since the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark decision in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26, 2015, striking down same-sex marriage bans nationwide. Prior to this, same-sex marriage in Arkansas was briefly legal for a period beginning on May 9, 2014, as a result of a ruling by Sixth Judicial Circuit Judge Chris Piazza striking down the state's constitutional and statutory bans on same-sex marriage as violating the U.S. Constitution. Approximately 541 same-sex couples received marriage licenses in several counties before the Arkansas Supreme Court stayed his ruling pending appeal on May 16, 2014.

<i>Latta v. Otter</i> United States federal legal case

Latta v. Otter is a case initiated in 2013 in U.S. federal court by plaintiffs seeking to prevent the state of Idaho from enforcing its ban on same-sex marriage. The plaintiffs won in U.S. District Court. The case was appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which heard this together with two related cases–Jackson v. Abercrombie, and Sevcik v. Sandoval.

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Puerto Rico since July 13, 2015, as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. On June 26, 2015, the court ruled that bans on same-sex marriage are unconstitutional under the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the United States Constitution. Same-sex couples could begin applying for marriage licenses on July 13, and the first marriages occurred on July 17, 2015.

In the United States, the history of same-sex marriage dates from the early 1940s, when the first lawsuits seeking legal recognition of same-sex relationships brought the question of civil marriage rights and benefits for same-sex couples to public attention though they proved unsuccessful. However marriage wasn't a request for the LGBTQ movement until the Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights in Washington (1987). The subject became increasingly prominent in U.S. politics following the 1993 Hawaii Supreme Court decision in Baehr v. Miike that suggested the possibility that the state's prohibition might be unconstitutional. That decision was met by actions at both the federal and state level to restrict marriage to male-female couples, notably the enactment at the federal level of the Defense of Marriage Act.

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