--- title: Marriage Equality and the Supreme Court: A Longer Story Than You Know description: The history of the idea of marriage equality in the United States is much older than it often gets credit for canonical: https://time.com/3934678/marriage-equality-supreme-court-history/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-26T14:18:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:41:18.206Z article:section: History og:title: Marriage Equality and the Supreme Court: A Longer Story Than You Know og:description: TIME's mentions of same-sex unions go back nearly a half-century og:url: https://time.com/3934678/marriage-equality-supreme-court-history/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef60c7ceaf32eb4b/6988583ccd1bba9b296fbf89/1101691031_400.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Oct. 31, 1969 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Marriage Equality and the Supreme Court: A Longer Story Than You Know twitter:description: TIME's mentions of same-sex unions go back nearly a half-century twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef60c7ceaf32eb4b/6988583ccd1bba9b296fbf89/1101691031_400.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Marriage Equality Is an Older Idea Than You Think ## Video: Edie and Thea: A Love Story [Watch (HLS stream): Edie and Thea: A Love Story](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Kc02dmNR.m3u8) (4:37)  _Published 2013-12-11. Edith Windsor reflects on her life with late spouse, Thea Spyer, and the meaning of gay marriage_  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jun 26, 2015 2:18 PM UTC  The Oct. 31, 1969, cover of TIME The Oct. 31, 1969, cover of TIMECover Credit: FRED BURRELL  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Jun 26, 2015 2:18 PM UTC Friday’s news that [the United States Supreme Court has ruled](http://time.com/3937244/supreme-court-gay-marriage-decision/) that all states must issue licenses for and recognize marriages between same-sex couples comes after years of anticipation among advocates and allies. Plenty of ink has been spilled about the [speed](http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21623671-week-americas-supreme-court-dealt-supporters-gay-marriage-great-victory-we-look) with which the idea went from political poison to a seeming inevitability—but the story of marriage equality in the United States is actually much longer than is often acknowledged.  The Oct. 31, 1969, cover of TIME Cover Credit: FRED BURRELL One of the first instances of same-sex marriage being discussed in the pages of TIME was in 1969, as part of a round-table discussion on the question “[Are Homosexuals Sick?](http://time.com/vault/issue/1969-10-31/page/70/)” in an issue with a cover story on The Homosexual in America. (That’s the cover, at left.) At one point in the conversation, one Rev. Robert Weeks proposed that it wasn’t so easy to say whether homosexuals as a group were “sick” or not: --- > “” --- Robin Fox, an anthropologist participating in the discussion, concurred: “So far as the two ‘married’ individuals are concerned,” he said, “they are engaged in what to them is a meaningful and satisfying relationship. What I would define as a sick person in sexual terms would be someone who could not go through the full sequence of sexual activity, from seeing and admiring to following, speaking, touching, and genital contact. A rapist, a person who makes obscene telephone calls—these seem to me sick people, and I don’t think it matters a damn whether the other person is of the same sex or not.” The notion of gay marriage wasn’t just theoretical. Same-sex couples around the country were already starting to push for legal unions. In [October of 1970,](http://time.com/vault/issue/1970-10-19/page/58/) a man named James Michael McConnell was fired by the University of Minnesota after applying for a marriage license with his partner. A district court judge ruled that the university couldn’t fire McConnell over it, as “the homosexual is as much entitled to the protection and benefits of the laws as are others.” The following year, McConnell was [back in the news ](http://time.com/vault/issue/1971-09-06/page/52/)with an enterprising solution to his problem: ultimately unable to use marriage to make their relationship legal, he adopted his partner. The ruling that allowed the adoption was, the Gay Activists Alliance told TIME that week, the first of its kind. And it came with benefits: their new household status suddenly opened the door for tax deductions, tuition discounts and inheritance rights. They were living proof that legal acknowledgement of a relationship conferred tangible rights. (As of a May 2015 [New York _Times_ ](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/17/us/the-same-sex-couple-who-got-a-marriage-license-in-1971.html)profile, they were still together). By the time the 1972 Democratic National Convention rolled around, the idea of marriage equality—though far from mainstream—was real enough to make it to Miami, where the delegates would meet. As TIME [reported](http://time.com/vault/issue/1972-07-17/page/13/), the largely youthful cohort that supported George McGovern included Americans who were ready to push the envelope for change, “demanding platform planks in favor of legalized marijuana, abortions on demand and homosexual marriage.” Except, of course, McGovern lost the general election to Richard Nixon. That same year, 1972, the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) passed Congress. Though the ERA, which said that “equality of rights under law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex,” passed Congress, it failed to be ratified by enough states, even after a multi-year fight. Foes of the measure warned that it could open the country to a future full of unisex bathrooms, military conscription for women and, yes, legalized gay marriage. TIME [called](http://time.com/vault/issue/1977-12-05/page/41/) the threat “exaggerated” and noted that even at the 1977 National Women’s Conference, where lesbian rights were on the agenda, many progressive leaders wanted to distance themselves from LGBT issues (not that they were called that at the time) for fear of lending ammunition to ERA foes. In 1981, as the ERA was on its last legs, speakers for the National Organization for Women [accused](http://time.com/vault/issue/1981-07-13/page/21/) the Stop ERA campaign led by Phyllis Schlafly of spreading word that the ERA would lead to “approval of homosexual marriage or the breakup of the family,” in TIME’s words. But their protestations weren’t enough. In 1982, the clock ran out on the ERA. ### How Gay Life in America Has Changed Over 50 Years  June 26, 1964 issue of LIFE magazine. Caption reads: "A San Francisco bar run for and by homosexuals is crowded with patrons who wear leather jackets, make a show of masculinity and scorn effeminate members of their world. Mural shows men in leather." Bill Eppridge—LIFE Magazine  June 26, 1964 issue of LIFE magazine. Caption for full-page photo reads: "Two fluffy-sweatered young men stroll in New York City, ignoring the stare of a 'straight' couple. Flagrant homosexuals are unabashed by reactions of shock, perplexity, disgust." Bill Eppridge—LIFE Magazine  June 26, 1964 issue of LIFE magazine. Caption for top left photo reads: "When Hollywood police closed 'gay' haunts near Santa Monica Blvd. bar, Barney Anthony put up a sign warning homosexuals. 'I don't like 'em,' he says. 'There's no excuse. They'll approach any nice-looking guy. Anybody does any recruiting, I say shoot him. Who cares?'" Bill Eppridge—LIFE Magazine  June 26, 1964 issue of LIFE magazine. Captions read: "A police officer in tight-pants disguise waits on a Hollywood street to be solicited by homosexuals cruising by in cars. Decoy officer and partner lead handcuffed homosexual away in Hollywood. When arrested for soliciting, he burst into tears." Bill Eppridge—LIFE Magazine Despite the use of same-sex marriage as a scare tactic, momentum for the idea began to build again in the 1980s. Individual municipalities and businesses [began to grant benefits](http://time.com/vault/issue/1982-12-13/page/110/) to domestic partners, and [by the end of the decade](http://time.com/vault/issue/1989-11-20/page/113/) there was growing, if still small, support for extending some legal protections typically associated with marriage. In the years since a TIME [survey](http://time.com/vault/issue/1989-11-20/page/113/) in 1989 showed that more than two-thirds of respondents opposed recognizing the marriage of same-sex couples, public opinion has [essentially flipped ](http://www.gallup.com/poll/117328/marriage.aspx)in favor of the unions. Perhaps Phyllis Schlafly was right. Given America’s turnabout on gay marriage, it’s distinctly possible that the ERA could have helped marriage equality arrive even faster. Nor was Schlafly the only one who might have guessed correctly. In 1975, TIME interviewed a Columbia Law professor about the possible implications of the amendment. The professor [said](http://time.com/vault/issue/1975-11-17/page/73/) that women who expressed fear of the ERA were really just afraid of change, but conceded that it was impossible to know what the eventual results would be of such a broadly worded addition to the Constitution. That professor’s name was Ruth Bader Ginsburg. **_Read TIME’s 2013 cover story on marriage equality:_** [How Gay Marriage Won](http://time.com/3937477/how-gay-marriage-won/) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3934678/marriage-equality-supreme-court-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3934678/marriage-equality-supreme-court-history/"},"headline":"Marriage Equality Is an Older Idea Than You Think","datePublished":"2015-06-26T14:18:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:41:18.206Z","description":"TIME's mentions of same-sex unions go back nearly a half-century","url":"https://time.com/3934678/marriage-equality-supreme-court-history/","keywords":["Courts","Gay Marriage","Supreme Court","Marriage Equality","LGBT"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef60c7ceaf32eb4b/6988583ccd1bba9b296fbf89/1101691031_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Lily Rothman","jobTitle":"Rothman is managing editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/"}],"articleSection":"History","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef60c7ceaf32eb4b/6988583ccd1bba9b296fbf89/1101691031_400.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Oct. 31, 1969","caption":"Oct. 31, 1969","creditText":"Cover Credit: FRED BURRELL","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/history/","name":"History"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/courts/","name":"Courts"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3934678/marriage-equality-supreme-court-history/","name":"Marriage Equality Is an Older Idea Than You Think"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Supreme Court Rules In Favor Of Same-Sex Marriage","description":"The Supreme Court delivered a ruling in favor of same-sex marriage, saying it is a constitutional right and opening the door for marriage nationally.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Nk2XaZ1m/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-06-26T14:43:09.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Nk2XaZ1m.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3934678/marriage-equality-supreme-court-history/","duration":"PT1M25S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3934678/marriage-equality-supreme-court-history/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Edie and Thea: A Love Story","description":"Edith Windsor reflects on her life with late spouse, Thea Spyer, and the meaning of gay marriage","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/Kc02dmNR/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2013-12-11T12:42:18.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/Kc02dmNR.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3934678/marriage-equality-supreme-court-history/","duration":"PT4M37S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3934678/marriage-equality-supreme-court-history/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```