In 1970, Richard Baker and James McConnell applied for a marriage liscence in Minnesota, and were denied because they were a same-sex couple. It went to trial, and the decision was upheld in court. In 1971, the couple appealed, but the Supreme Court upheld the origional ruling, and this would happen again in 1972.
In 1973, Maryland became the first state to define marriage as between a man and a woman. By 1977, four other states had followed suit.
In 1989, San Fransisco passed an ordinance that allowed for domestic partnerships and three years later, so did DC.
In 1996 Clinton signed into action The Defense of Marriage act, saying same sex couples couldn't benefit from the federal govornment in any way straight couples can.
In 2000, Vermont legalized civil unions, and in 2003 Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage. Later that year the Senate blocked a bill aimed to ban it across the country.However, by 2006, 19 states would have laws against gay marriage. This would continue into the 2010's but in 2012, 3 states had legalized gay marriage.