IN THE NEWS: CELEBRATING ONE YEAR OF MARRIAGE EQUALITY

#LoveWins

This month at MEN'S VOWS, we're celebrating one year of marriage equality in the United States, following the SCOTUS decision in Obergefell v. Hodges announced June 26, 2015. So a year on, what's changed and how does marriage equality fit into the landscape of marriage in America? We take a look at some of the coverage, stats, and stories unfolding as we take stock in where we've come over the past 12 months.

AMEX's #ExpressLove full-page ads ran in the Sunday edition of The New York Times

AMEX's #ExpressLove full-page ads ran in the Sunday edition of The New York Times

AMEX — #ExpressLove

Given that the official 1-year anniversary of the SCOTUS decision landed on Sunday, June 26, 2016, AMEX took out full-page ads in the Sunday edition of The New York Times with the hashtag #ExpressLove in a clever bid to support and celebrate the anniversary. We love how the ads illustrate the everyday aspect of love, no matter the form and labels. For more about the campaign, AdWeek has a deeper dive you can read here.

33% Increase in gay marriages

The USA Today delves into the numbers behind a year of marriage equality. Just what kind of impact did the gay marriage ruling have in a year?

  • There's just shy of 1 million individuals in gay or lesbian marriages
  • That's almost half a million gay marriages, with 123,000 since June 2015
  • Nearly half of gay and lesbian couples are married, up from 38% a year ago

 

Celebrating gay marriage in 50 States

Esquire has a lovely photo gallery featuring one gay marriage from every state in the U.S., including Washington D.C. It's a touching, can't-miss gallery you can see here.

When love wins, so too does the economy

Maybe not the sexiest of topics, but when you look at the economics of how marriage equality has impacted the industry, it's hard to argue that when love wins, so too does the economy. VICE News takes a look at the $1.58 billion contribution to the U.S. economy from gay marriage in the last year. The article also cites nearly 19,000 jobs created as a result of this growth in the industry. 

#LoveIsLove

And last but not least we, well, love this GIF Barack Obama posted Sunday the 26th to celebrate the one year anniversary of the SCOTUS decision. 

Have you seen other coverage celebrating one year of gay marriage? What does this milestone mean to you? We'd love to see your comments below!