Marriage Equality Rhode Island

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A History of Marriage

History teaches us that social institutions, political arrangements, and cultural norms must adapt in order to address changing societal circumstances. Marriage, like most other important institutions, has changed over time.

1691

Virginia enacts a law stating that if a white person (bond or free) marries a person of color (Negro, mulatto, or Indian), the couple will be banished from the colony. Banishment meant almost certain death in the woods.

1724

Article VIII of the Louisiana Black Code forbids marriages between slaves without the consent of the slave master.

1769

American colonies based their laws on the English common law, which said, “By marriage, the husband and wife are one person in the law. The very being and legal existence of the woman is suspended during the marriage, or at least is incorporated into that of her husband under whose wing and protection she performs everything.”

1839

The Mississippi becomes the first state to grant women the right to hold property in their own name, with their husbands’ permission. By 1900 all states had legislation granting women some control over their property and earnings.

1865

The Mississippi Black Code prohibits blacks from marrying whites, punishable by life imprisonment.

1918

New York v. Sanger allows doctors to advise their married patients about birth control for health purposes. It wasn’t until 1965 that all state laws prohibiting the prescription or use of contraceptives by married couples were overturned.

1948

In Perez v. Sharp, California Supreme Court becomes first state high court to declare a ban on interracial marriage unconstitutional.

1967

The U.S. Supreme Court, in Loving v. Virginia, overturns all state bans on interracial marriage, declaring that “the freedom to marry has long been recognized as one of the vital personal rights essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.”

1969

California adopts the nation’s first “no fault” divorce law, allowing divorce by mutual consent.

1981

Kirchberg v. Feenstra overturns state laws designating a husband “head and master” with unilateral control of property owned jointly with his wife.

1993

Hawaii Supreme Court rules that prohibiting same-sex couples from marrying may violate Hawaii Constitution’s ban on sex discrimination, and can only be upheld if prohibition is justified by a compelling reason — in 1996 no compelling reason is found. In 1998, before the HI Supreme Court can issue a final ruling, the voters amend the state Constitution to allow state legislature to restrict marriage to men and women only.

1996

• The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) is the first federal law to explicitly promote marriage and encourage the formation of two-parent [heterosexual] families.
• Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) (a) defines marriage under federal law as exclusively heterosexual (between one man and one woman); and (b) declares that states are not required to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

1998

• Arizona passes Covenant Marriage legislation, under which [heterosexual] couples promise to stay married for life and renounce their legal right to a no-fault divorce.
• Florida becomes the first state to mandate high school seniors to take a marriage and relationship skills course before graduation through the Florida Marriage Preparation and Preservation Act.
• In May, Alaska trial court rules that choosing a marital partner is a fundamental right and can’t be interfered with by the State absent a compelling reason. In November of that same year, voters amend Alaska Constitution to require that all marriages be between a man and a woman.

1999

Vermont Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples are entitled, under the Vermont Constitution, to all of the protections and benefits provided through marriage.

2000

• Vermont legislature passes and Vermont Governor signs a law creating civil unions for same-sex couples, giving these couples all the rights and benefits of marriage under Vermont law but not marriage licenses.
• Arizona passes a Marriage Initiative that allocates one million Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF — welfare) dollars for [opposite-sex] marriage skills courses provided by community-based organizations (often churches).
• Oklahoma Governor announces a $10 million plan to encourage marriage and reduce divorce. Other states continue to follow this example.

2001

Gay and lesbian couples from Massachusetts file state court lawsuit seeking the right to marry.

2002

Seven New Jersey lesbian and gay couples sue in New Jersey state court and demand their constitutional right to marry.

2003

• In Lawrence v. Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down last remaining anti-gay sodomy laws in Texas and other states.
• On November 18, 2003 in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Court holds that barring an individual from the protections, benefits and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution.

2003 – 2004

The Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) is proposed and defeated in Congress. The FMA would have denied marriage rights to same-sex couples by adding the following two sentences to the U.S. Constitution: “Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman… Neither this Constitution or the constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups.” Similar amendments have been added to, and proposed for, state constitutions around the country.

2004

• February 12: City officials in San Francisco, California began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples and performed the first known civil marriage of a homosexual couple in the U.S. Over 80 couples were given quick ceremonies.
• February 20: Victoria Dunlap, Republican county clerk of rural Sandoval County, New Mexico, began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, citing lack of legal grounds for denial.
• March 2: Jason West, mayor of New Paltz, New York was charged with 19 criminal counts of solemnizing marriages without a license. West had solemnized a number of same-sex marriages in his town.
• March 3: Agnes Sowle, County Attorney for Multnomah County, Oregon, finds it unconstitutional for the county to discriminate based on gender and sexual orientation when granting marriage licenses, and the county begins issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
• May 17: Marriage licenses first issued to same-sex couples in Massachusetts.
• August 25: Eight gay and lesbian couples file suit in Connecticut challenging the state’s discriminatory denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples.

2005

• The Healthy Marriage initiative passes Congress, and sets aside $100 million annually “to help [heterosexual] families stay together.“
• Oregon’s Supreme Court nullifies nearly 3,000 marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples in 2004 in violation of state law.
• Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell (R) signs bill authorizing civil unions for same-sex couples, effective Oct. 1.
• California state Assembly approves Senate-passed bill to legalize same-sex marriage, but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) vetoes it.

2006

• New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, rules that the state constitution does not guarantee same-sex couples equal access to the rights and privileges of marriage.
• New Jersey Supreme Court rules that the state constitution guarantees same-sex couples all of the legal benefits of marriage but stops short of legalizing same-sex marriage.
• New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine (D), in the wake of a court order, signs a bill permitting same-sex couples to enter into civil unions.

2007

• Michigan appeals court rules that state’s ban on gay marriage prohibits state and local governments and public universities from offering health benefits to partners in same-sex relationships.
• New Jersey begins accepting applications for civil unions.
• Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch issues legal opinion advising state to recognize same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts.
• Massachusetts lawmakers uphold the state’s court-imposed same-sex marriage law, protecting it from constitutional ban for at least five years.

2008

• February: A New York State appeals court unanimously votes that valid same-sex marriages performed in other states must be recognized by employers in New York, granting same-sex couples the same rights as other couples.
• February: The state of Oregon passes a law that allows same-sex couples to register as domestic partners allowing them some spousal rights of married couples.
• May: The California Supreme Court rules that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. More than 18,000 same-sex couples marry by November.
• October: The Supreme Court of Connecticut rules that same-sex couples have the right to marry. This makes Connecticut the second state, after Massachusetts, to legalize civil marriage for same-sex couples. The court rules that the state cannot deny gay and lesbian couples the freedom to marry under Connecticut’s constitution, and that the state’s civil union law does not provide same-sex couples with the same rights as heterosexual couples.
• November: California voters approve a ban on same-sex marriage called Proposition 8, calling the validity of marriages already performed into question. Voters in Arizona, and Florida also approve the passage of measures that ban same-sex marriage, and Arkansas passes a measure intended to bar gay men and lesbians from adopting children.
• November: Same-sex marriages begin to be officially performed in Connecticut.

2009

• March 23: The Vermont Senate approves same-sex marriage with a vote of 26 to 4. On April 2, the Vermont House approves the bill with a vote of 95-52. On April 6, Vermont Governor Jim Douglas vetos the bill.
• April 3: The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously rejects a state law that banned same-sex marriage, making it the third state to legalize marriage equality for same-sex couples.
• April 7: The Vermont legislature votes to override the governor’s veto, making it the fourth state to legalize marriage equality, and the first to enact it by voluntary legislative action.

 

Sources

The majority of historical information in this timeline was provided with permission from COLAGE:
http://www.colage.org/programs/justforus/JFUsp04.pdf

Additional research and information:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0761909.html
http://pewforum.org/docs/?DocID=292
http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/phil/blphil_eth_gaym_chron.htm