The Suquamish Tribe in Washington State on Monday became the second in America to recognize marriage equality with a the passage of a new law that allows the tribal court to issue a marriage license to two unmarried people, regardless of their sex, if they're at least 18 years old and at least one of them is enrolled in the tribe, reports The Associated Press. The move comes after one tribe member, Heather Purse, came out as a lesbian in March 2011 at a general council meeting and asked her people to recognize same-sex marriages at the tribe's reservation. The support was unanimous.

The Coquille Indian Tribe on the southern Oregon coast is the only other tribe that recognizes same-sex marriage in the United States.

Many Native American tribes historically had accepted same-sex relationships, but that was before European colonizers and subsequent pioneers brought and spread the disease of homophobia across North America.