Who Made Lgbtq Marriage Legal?

Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. As of 2024, marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 37 countries. The history of same-sex marriage dates back to the early 1940s when lawsuits seeking legal recognition of same-sex relationships brought the question of civil marriage rights and benefits for same-sex couples to public attention. Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction, encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.

In the United States, the history of same-sex marriage dates back to 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. 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. In a landmark 5-4 decision, marriage equality became the law of the land, granting same-sex couples in all 50 states the right to full, equal recognition.

In India, same-sex marriage has some equal cohabitation rights, colloquially known as live-in relationships. In 2015, the Supreme Court made same-sex marriage legal across the country with its ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case.