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.
A series of federal court decisions strike down same-sex marriage bans in several states, and the Supreme Court declines to review cases in Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin, effectively requiring those states to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.