Timeline and Discussion (Timeline from Sam Jose Mercury News)

Pre-2008 Sept. 21, 1996: The Defense of Marriage Act: marriage is 1 man and 1 woman; state may refuse to recognize marriages in other states March 7, 2000: By a 61 percent majority, California voters approve Proposition 22, which says only marriage between a man and a woman is valid. Feb. 12, 2004: San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom defies state law by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples at City Hall. March 11, 2004: California Supreme Court orders San Francisco to stop marrying gay couples. May 17, 2004: Massachusetts becomes first state to legalize gay marriage.

2008 May 15, 2008: California Supreme Court strikes down state's existing laws banning same-sex marriage, saying they violate the rights of gay couples under the California Constitution. Oct. 10, 2008: Connecticut Supreme Court grants gays the right to marry. Nov. 4, 2008: By a 52 percent majority, California voters approve Proposition 8, which restores the ban on same-sex marriage.

2009 April 3, 2009: Iowa Supreme Court legalizes gay marriage. April 7, 2009: Vermont Legislature overrides governor's veto on bill, making gay marriage legal. May 6, 2009: Maine becomes fifth state to legalize gay marriage. May 26, 2009: California Supreme Court upholds Proposition 8 but rules that gay couples who married before it passed are still married. June 3, 2009: New Hampshire legalizes gay marriage

July 8, 2010: Federal judge rules that 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman, is unconstitutional. Aug. 4, 2010: U.S. District Chief Judge Vaughn Walker strikes down Proposition 8, ruling that gays have a constitutional right to marry. Courts later put same-sex marriages on hold pending appeals. June 24, 2011: New York legalizes gay marriage.

2012 Feb. 7, 2012: Federal appeals court affirms Walker's 2010 ruling, saying Proposition 8 unconstitutionally discriminates. March 1, 2012: Maryland legalizes gay marriage. Oct. 18, 2012: 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York finds Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional in a ruling the U.S. Supreme Court later agrees to review. It is one of several lower court decisions striking down the act. Nov. 6, 2012: Maine and Washington voters approve gay marriage. Dec. 7, 2012: U.S. Supreme Court says it will hear challenges to Proposition 8 and Defense of Marriage Act.

June 25, 2013: In a 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court strikes down part of the Defense of Marriage Act of 1996 that denies federal benefits to same-sex couples. The decision does not guarantee a right to same-sex marriage, but allows people who live in states that allow same-sex marriage to receive the same federal benefits as heterosexual couples. Nov. 6, 2014: The Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upholds bans on same-sex marriage in Kentucky and Michigan and also rules that Ohio, Tennessee and Kentucky are not required to recognize gay marriages that take place in other states. This ruling bucks the trend of other appeals courts, pressuring the Supreme Court to take up the issue. June 26, 2015: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that the U.S. Constitution guarantees the right for same-sex couples to marry in all 50 U.S. states.

The Constitution How many times is “marriage” listed in the Constitution? 0. So, if something is not in the Constitution, how is it decided in terms of Federal Law? 10 th amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” Who are the people? Voters and Congress

Discussion Based on the Constitution, marriage laws belong to who? Based on the events of the timeline (voter’s approvals, appeal courts, etc), did the Supreme Court act within the parameters of the Constitution?