![Gay rights advocate Vin Testa waves a rainbow flag in front of the Supreme Court in Washington. On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a pair of landmark rulings, one striking down a law that denied federal recognition to same-sex marriages and the other clearing the way for gay couples to wed legally in California.](https://lgbtqnation-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/2014/06/Marriage-eq-5.jpg)
![Virginia](https://lgbtqnation-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/2014/02/Va-plaintiffs-celebrate-1-450x307.jpg)
From left back row, Carol Schall , Emily Schall-Townley,16, daughter of Schall and Townley and Mary Townley , Tim Bostic and Tony London celebrate the Thursday’s ruling by federal Judge Arenda Wright Allen that Virginia’s same-sex marriage ban was unconstitutional on Friday, Feb. 14, 2014 in Norfolk, Va.
JULY On July 1, five days after the high court rulings, two men who had been partners since 1989 tried to obtain a marriage license at a courthouse in Norfolk, Virginia. Timothy Bostic and Tony London were turned down, and filed a lawsuit a few weeks later arguing that Virginia’s treatment of gays and lesbians was unequal in depriving them of the many benefits of marriage. Another gay couple was later added to the case, and in February a federal judge, Arenda L. Wright Allen, ruled in their favor, saying Virginia’s ban on gay marriage was unconstitutional.
OCTOBER
![Mel Evans, APNewark Mayor and Senator-elect Cory Booker, right, shares a laugh as he officiates the first same-sex marriage for Joesph Panessidi, center right, 65, and Orville Bell, 65, in Newark City hall just after midnight Monday, Oct. 21, 2013.](https://lgbtqnation-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/2013/10/NJ-gay-weddings-1-450x297.jpg)
Newark Mayor and Senator-elect Cory Booker, right, shares a laugh as he officiates the first same-sex marriage for Joesph Panessidi, center right, 65, and Orville Bell, 65, in Newark City hall just after midnight Monday, Oct. 21, 2013.
![Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie, center, poses with legislators and supporters after signing a bill on Nov. 13, 2013, legalizing same-sex marriage in Hawaii.](https://lgbtqnation-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/2013/11/HI-marriage-sig-2-450x304.jpg)
![Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, center, signs the state's marriage equality bill into law on Nov. 20, 2013. The measure goes into effect statewide June 1, 2014.](https://lgbtqnation-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/2013/11/Quinn-signs-IL-marriage-bill-450x304.jpg)
NOVEMBER In the span of a week, the governors of Hawaii and Illinois signed laws passed by the legislature legalizing same-sex marriage. In Hawaii, tourism officials looked ahead to the possibility of becoming a gay wedding mecca. Some activists looked back — recalling that Hawaii was an early battleground in the gay marriage debate. The state Supreme Court had ruled in 1993 that gay couples should have marriage rights, triggering a backlash that included congressional passage of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1994. It was a key part of that act — forbidding the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages — that the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a year ago. In Illinois, Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn signed the marriage bill on a desk once used by President Abraham Lincoln. Among those speaking at the ceremony was state Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka, a Republican. “History will show that we got it right on this one,” she said. “I am available to be a flower girl, and I’ll even waive the fee.”