Marriage Equality Becomes the Law of the Land

August 22, 2019

On June 26, 2015, eleven years after the first same-sex couples married in Massachusetts, the U.S. Supreme Court releases its decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. Mary Bonauto once again successfully makes the case, this time securing the freedom to marry for same-sex couples nationwide.

The victory is the culmination of more than a decade of dedicated funding from the Gill Foundation and other philanthropic partners, and the strategic planning and execution of a public education campaign demonstrating to the American public that love is love, no matter who you are.

Using the marriage momentum to pivot to the next fight, the Gill Foundation joins with Paul Singer to establish Freedom for All Americans (Education Fund), the bipartisan campaign to win nationwide nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people. As a proof point of the battles ahead, Houston voters deliver a crushing loss when they vote to repeal nondiscrimination protections for LGBT people.