Same-sex marriage is marriage between partners of the same sex and/or gender identity. For example, a marriage between two men or two women.
In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriages, paving the way for many other states to consider legalizing same-sex marriage. Over the course of the next decade, several other states legalized same-sex marriage; and in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, including in the remaining 14 states that had not previously allowed same-sex couples to marry. The decision in this case was based on the court’s interpretation of the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
See also: Equal Protection and Marriage Equality
[Last updated in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]