U.S. Marriage Equality Began In Massachusetts 13 Years Ago Today

13 years ago today, Massachusetts became the first state in the United States (and the 6th jurisdiction in the world) to legalize same-sex marriage.

I'll mention that I actually married my husband about six months before while working in Toronto, Canada, thinking U.S. marriage rights would be out of my grasp for years to come.

And it would be four years before California and Connecticut would follow suit.

The dominoes would begin to fall more quickly after that as Iowa and Vermont joined the party in 2009, and New Hampshire and the District of Columbia would do the same in 2010.

2013 and 2014 would be big years for the marriage equality movement. And, of course, 2015 gave us the Obergefell ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court which made same-sex marriage the law of the land.

As my friend Michelangelo Signorile says, "It's not over yet." The Equality Act is necessary to bring federal LGBT protections into line regarding a host of areas including housing, employment and more.

But, we can take a second to look back and enjoy the landmark achievement in LGBT rights made 13 years ago today.

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