The spread of marriage equality had been years in the making - going back to Massachusetts, the first state with marriage equality. But over the next 11 years, marriage equality spread across the nation - to 50 states and Washington, DC - through a mix of court decisions, ballot initiatives, and laws pushed through state legislatures. In 2004, same-sex marriage was legal in just one state. Same-sex marriage is legal in all 50 states Here's what led to the final decision by the Supreme Court. Within 11 years, same-sex marriage rights spread from just one state to all 50 and Washington, DC.
