Happy Ninth Anniversary To Gay Marriage In The U.S. (PHOTO)

PHOTO: Happy Ninth Anniversary To Gay Marriage In The U.S.!
CAMBRIDGE - MAY 17: Cambridge City Hall -- At Cambridge City Hall, Marcia Kadish (left) and Tanya McCloskey exchange rings as they are married before Clerk D. Margaret Drury at Cambridge City Hall. They were the first couple to be married in Cambridge on Monday morning. (Photo by Dina Rudick/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
CAMBRIDGE - MAY 17: Cambridge City Hall -- At Cambridge City Hall, Marcia Kadish (left) and Tanya McCloskey exchange rings as they are married before Clerk D. Margaret Drury at Cambridge City Hall. They were the first couple to be married in Cambridge on Monday morning. (Photo by Dina Rudick/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage nine years ago on Friday, after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state may not "deny the protections, benefits and obligations conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry." The state Legislature was given 180 days to take action. It didn't, and on May 17, 2004, Marcia Kadish and Tanya McCloskey -- a couple who had been together for 18 years -- tied the knot in the first gay marriage ceremony in the United States.

gay marriage in the us

Marcia Kadish (left) and Tanya McCloskey (right) exchange rings as they are married before Clerk D. Margaret Drury at Cambridge City Hall. (Photo by Dina Rudick/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

The marriage equality movement has come a long way in the nine years since. Below, a list of the 12 states -- along with Washington D.C. -- that have legalized gay marriage.

Before You Go

Connecticut

Gay Marriage In The United States

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot