Throughout the history of equality, restitution, and human rights in the United States of America, same-sex marriage has been one of the most violent debates and scandalized in the country. Gay and lesbian citizens of the United States knew that their constitutional rights had been denied or set aside by their own government. They are citizens from the lower class up to the upper economic class, who pay taxes, serve society, and by law should not be deprived of any rights afforded to other citizens. Discrimination, isolation, judgment and injustice against sexual orientation are some of the problems that the gay community has suffered for many years. However, although the Constitution states that no one should be denied their right because of sex, gender or color, society and some leaders have condemned this community and placed them in isolation. For example, the church has stated that the Bible condemns homosexuality, which is why many Christian states state that gay relationships are immoral and violate the sacred institution of marriage. Meanwhile, many states forget that the Constitution says that citizens of the United States may practice any religion or no religion. Religious views and condemnation have clearly been a major challenge that gay marriage has faced throughout its journey to success. Through numerous legal battles and countless public protests across the nation, the fight for same-sex marriage is and has been a very tough and unstoppable battle for the gay community. Case after case and failure after failure have been the resilient battle of the gay community for many years without chanting to give up until they got what they wanted: "equality for all Americans." Marriage equality was achieved with persistence and dedication, here are some of the main, infamous and unmentioned paths the gay community goes through to achieve same-sex marriage in the United States. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay One of the first same-sex court fights took place in Minnesota. "On May 18, 1970, two University of Minnesota students, Richard John 'Jack' Baker and James Michael McConnell, applied to Hennepin County District Court Clerk Gerald Nelson for a marriage license. He denied the request, because both plaintiffs were men. The couple was angry at the decision and decided to take the case to court. This case took place on October 10, 1972 and was the case of Baker v Nelson in which the Minnesota supreme court ruled that. a state law restricted marriage to people of the opposite sex did not violate the United States Constitution, but same-sex marriage was not within that constitutional right. Eventually the case was brought to the supreme court in Washington DC but they were dismissed because the court presumed that the plaintiffs in this civil case had violated the United States Constitution in one way or another, which was not said at the time. Ultimately, many states use the court's decision as a springboard to block any marriage equality efforts in the country. Following this court case in 1973, the state of Maryland becomes the first to ban same-sex marriage in the country, as did many others to follow a similar or worse ban on gay marriage. Many small protests were taking place here and there, but the most significant one waswith a politically honest vision was the “First mass sexual weeding ceremony on October 10, 1987”. During these events hundreds of same-sex couples march in Washington DC dressing as if they had just gotten married, showing a direct political act that challenged the social, religious and political obstacles against same-sex marriage. This was an act to tell each state that they were men and women protected by the Constitution like every other American citizen. They responded to the injustice and inequality of a nation that uniquely blocked the happiness, liberty, and liberty rights provided by the United States Constitution. This protest was a way to tell everyone to get over our hatred of what we are up against for ridiculous and irrational reasons, based on ignorance, lack of information, immorality and incorrect assumptions, by religious groups and homophobes who instead want to show themselves as human beings with the right to be happy like anyone else. Another breaking point for same-sex marriage was the case of Baehr v. Mike (1993). The cause of this case was that Nina Baehr claimed that the state of Hawaii had refused to issue her and her same-sex partner a marriage license. For this reason he sued the state of Hawaii for illegal sexual discrimination. He took the case to court and the Hawaii Supreme Court found his case was correct. The Court ruled that the state's ban on same-sex marriage constitutes discrimination on the basis of sex and violates the state's Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, drafted in 1868. However, this case simply demonstrates that same-sex marriage was illegal under the Constitution but changed nothing about same-sex marriage in the United States. Ultimately the Supreme Court sent the case to the lower courts and subjected it to a compelling state interest test. This means that the case must be carefully examined by states and demonstrated that it will be in the interests of society as a whole. In 1998, subsequent political events and laws allowed same-sex marriage to be banned in the states of Hawaii. On the other hand, at the beginning of this case it was the first time that a state Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage is constitutional and that creates more awareness in the gay community to advance its goal. A major event paving the way towards same-sex marriage occurred in the states of Utah. In 1995, Utah Governor Mike Leavitt enacted the state's first defense of marriage statute, which specifies that Utah is not required to recognize out-of-state marriages that violate state public policy. This law condemns and discourages many gay Utah residents because even if any other state legalized same-sex marriage, there would still be no validation in their state. To make things even more difficult for the homosexual movement, in 1996 President Bill Clinton introduced the Defense of Marriage Act also known as DOMA. This law defines marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman as husband and wife" and defines spouse as "a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife". This has been very controversial because this law will deny many federal benefits to those who have a same-sex partner. Many members of Congress and federal and state judges feared that Baehr v. Miike would force states to legalize intermarriage.