Although policy conversations around same-sex marriage in the United States date back to the 1970s, it wasn’t until 2004 that Massachusetts became the first U.S. state and the sixth jurisdiction in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. By 2014, over 70% of the American population was living in marriage-equality states. On June 26, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all state bans on same-sex marriage, legalizing it in all fifty states and requiring states to honor same-sex marriage licenses nationwide.

 

This data includes nationwide survey responses from 762,678 students between 1999 and 2015. The findings suggest that inclusive marriage laws help prevent youth suicide. This visualization represents an important moment in American history and the undeniable benefits of inclusive marriage laws.