The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which became a law in 1996, declared that marriages between gay or lesbian couples were not recognized by the federal government, meaning those couples could not receive legal benefits - like Social Security and health insurance - that straight married couples could. The new law expanded previous hate crime legislation to officially categorize crimes motivated by actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability as hate crimes. The act was named for two men who were murdered in hate crimes - Matthew Shepard because he was gay, and James Byrd, Jr. President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act becomes a law. October, 2009: The Matthew Shepard & James Byrd Jr. Vermont became the first state in the country to give same-sex couples the right to enter into civil unions - legal partnerships which would grant those couples the same rights and benefits as those in legal marriages. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), voluntarily came out as gay, making him the second openly gay member of congress, and the first to come out voluntarily, in the country’s history.Īpril, 2000: Vermont takes a huge step toward same-sex marriage legalization. After spending six years on Capitol Hill, Rep.
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