2008 gay marriage

August 19 – Argentina approves the first nationwide gay rights measure, extending to same-sex couples the right to claim their deceased partners' pensions. [14] 21 – The Coquille Indian Tribe in Oregon legalizes same-sex marriage.

Married same-sex households have outnumbered unmarried same-sex households since In , the Supreme Court ruled on Obergefell v. Hodges , thereby legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide.

Only months earlier, in May , the California Supreme Court had deemed the state’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, making California the second state in the country to legalize gay.

In a historic ruling that may have significant implications for other states, the Ninth Circuit District Court overturned Proposition 8, the California voter initiative banning same-sex marriage, on August 4, Proposition 8 was passed by voters in November , in response to a May decision by the California Supreme Court to overturn a previously held statutory ban on same-sex marriages. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa praised the decision.

Proposition 8 was created by opponents of same-sex marriage prior to the final ruling on In re Marriage Cases as a voter ballot initiative, and voted on at the time of the November elections.

California has always been thought of as a progressive state. In general, the west coast is seen as more liberal than the southeastern seaboard. However, events arose surrounding gay rights in in California that threw its stance as a bastion of liberal progressivism into question.

As the California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was legal in California on May 15, , Proposition 8 had the effect of reversing the court's ruling and banning same-sex marriage.

Proposition 3 would enshrine the right to same-sex marriage into the California constitution, repealing Proposition 8 — a measure approved by voters in that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. In practice, the ballot measure would not change who can marry. The California Supreme Court quickly shut it down, and Californians voted in to ban same-sex marriage in the state.