Code Adam Alert Program. On April 23, 2003, âThe Code Adam Act of 2003â became law. It requires the designated authority for a public building to establish procedures for a child missing in a federal facility. The General Services Administration's Public Buildings Service (PBS) will administer this program nationwide in both owned and leased buildings.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court rules that the state constitution gives gay and lesbian couples the right to marry, making the Bay State the first in the nation to allow same-sex marriage. Weddings begin in 2004.
More states ban same-sex marriage than allow it. But that doesn't tell the whole story. Update (6/26/2015): On June 26, 2015, the US Supreme Court ruled that bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional. The ruling effectively legalized gay marriage in every state. Just a few years ago, the fight for marriage equality looked incredibly bleak.