In 2014, Arizona became the 31st state to legalize same-sex marriage. Maricopa County clerks’ offices began immediately issuing marriage licenses on October 17, 2014. Prior to this, in 2013, the “gay-rights battleground” town of Bisbee had become the first Arizona city to recognize same-sex civil unions, which allowed them some of the same rights as married couples.

Less than a year later, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges would declare same-sex marriage a constitutional right across the United States. 

The first two couples to receive same-sex marriage licenses in Maricopa County in 2014: David Larance & Kevin Patterson, and Nelda Majors & Karen Bailey. (Source: Nick Oza / The Republic.)