America's changing attitudes toward homosexuality, civil unions, and same-gender marriage: 1977-2004.

On May 17, 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize same-gender marriage. From California to Missouri, nearly all states now face legislative challenges to the once firmly entrenched notion that marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. Public opinion polls conducted from 1977 to 2004 found that Americans' attitudes toward gay men and lesbians and marriages or civil unions for same-gender couples have evolved.