Same-sex marriage

Note: This article deals with civil or state marriage, not the religious concept of marriage as1936 espoused by various faiths. For more information on this topic, please see Religion and homosexuality.

"Joe is a HOMO" haha ya FAG Same-sex marriage (also called gay marriage and same-gender marriage) is civil marriage between two partners of the same sex.

Same-sex marriages currently are legally performed only in the Netherlands, Belgium, and the Canadian province of Ontario. Recently, the term "same-sex marriage" has been displacing "gay marriage", the term being perceived as less value-laden for the union of two partners of the same sex.

In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, there has been a growing movement in a number of countries to extend the right to marry to gay and lesbian couples. Legal recognition of a marital union opens up a wide range of entitlements, including social security, taxation, inheritance and other benefits unavailable to couples unmarried in the eyes of the law. Restricting legal recognition to heterosexual unions excludes same-sex couples from gaining legal access to these benefits. (While opposite-sex unmarried couples without other legal impediments have the option of marrying in law and so gaining access to these rights, that option is unavailable to same-sex couples.) It also makes it more complex and difficult for same-sex couples to adopt children.

Opponents of same-sex marriage argue that extending marriage to homosexual couples undercuts the traditional meaning of marriage in the Judeo-Christian tradition. (Please see Religion and homosexuality). In response, proponents point out that traditional concepts of marriage have already given way to liberalization in other areas, such as the availability of no-fault divorce. They also suggest that many people in modern societies no longer subscribe to the religious beliefs which inform traditional limits upon marriage, and no longer wish these beliefs to constitute the law. Furthermore, a number of religions celebrate same-sex weddings or commitment ceremonies already; in Canada, the United Church of Canada, the country's largest Protestant denomination, has striven for the legalization of same-sex marriage.

Some opponents also claim that allowing same-sex marriage will re-open the door to the legalization of polyamorous marriage, or other forms they find even more objectionable. Some proponents disagree, while others do not find this a problem.

The movement towards the legal recognition of same-sex marriages has resulted in changes in the law in many local jurisdictions, though the extent of the changes have varied:

Some jurisdictions have created formal legal recognition for homosexual relations, but which are more limited than marriage, e.g. domestic partnership laws in scandinavian countries and Germany. A bill to introduce such a formal recognition of same sex unions is due to be introduced into the Irish Senate in early 2003.

Others have created a separate status from marriage, with however equal rights to married couples: e.g. civil unions;

Others have allowed homosexual couples to marry, and have identical legal status to heterosexual legal couples. Such an approach has been adopted in the Netherlands. In January 2003 the Belgian parliament approved an enactment recognizing same-sex marriage. Similar approaches are being developed in Finland and Canada.

Even in jurisdictions where they are not legally recognized, many gay and lesbian couples choose to have weddings (also called "commitment ceremonies") to celebrate and affirm their relationship, fulfilling the social aspect of a marriage. Such ceremonies have no legal validity, however, and as such do not deal with issues such as inheritance, property rights or social security.

Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands

A "registered partnership" system became active on January 1st, 1998. However after a court case brought about by a gay couple it was concluded that restricting marriage to partners of mixed genders was in violation of the constitution, which forbids discrimination against homosexuals. Hence the marriage law was changed and since April 1st, 2001 homosexual marriages have been permitted. Note that registered partnerships, although originally introduced to enable same-gendercouples to make their partnership official, are open to couples of mixed gender as well.

There was strong opposition from fundamentalist religious groups to the introduction of same-sex marriage, e.g., see Khalil el-Moumni. Individual churches have retained the right to decide whether or not to conduct such ceremonies; in practice many have been willing to do so.

While regional government offices are obliged to perform civil same-sex marriages, some uncertainty has remained about whether individual officials have the right to refuse to perform them.

The rules about nationality and residence are the same as for any other marriage in the Netherlands: at least one partner must either have Dutch nationality or reside in the country. There is no guarantee that a same-sex marriage will be recognised in other countries. Most likely it will be accepted in those and only those countries that have themselves a form of registered partnership for same-sex couples.

According to provisional figures from the Netherlands Central Bureau of Statistics, for the first six months same-sex marriages made up 3.6 percent of the total number of marriages: a peak of around 6 percent in the first month followed by around 3 percent in the remaining months: about 2100 men and 1700 women in total.

Same-sex marriages are fully equivalent to opposite-sex marriages in the Netherlands with apparently two restrictions relating to adoption of children. First, if a married lesbian has a child, her wife will not count as the child's father or mother; unless and until she adopts the child, she will count for the law as a stepmother. Second, Dutch law provides some exceptions for other nation's laws regarding international adoptions for Dutch same-sex couples.

Netherlands Ministry of Justice factsheet (in English)

Same-sex marriage in Belgium

On January 30, 2003, Belgium became the second country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage. However, the law still does not permit adoption by same-sex partners.

News article from PlanetOut

Same-sex marriage in Canada

On June 10, 2003, the Ontario Court of Appeal confirmed that current Canadian law on marriage violated the equality provisions in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms in being restricted to heterosexual couples. The court did not allow the province any grace time to bring its laws in line with the ruling, making Ontario the first jurisdiction in North America to recognize same-sex marriage. Consequently, the City of Toronto announced that the city clerk would begin issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples. The next day, the Ontario attorney general announced that his government would comply with the ruling.[1]

Civil status is of provincial jurisdiction in Canada. However, the definition of marriage is a federal law. On June 17, 2003, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien announced that the government would not appeal the Ontario ruling; instead, his government would introduce legislation to recognize same-sex marriage but protect the rights of churches to decide which marriages they would solemnize. The premier of Alberta, Ralph Klein, had indicated that his province would use the notwithstanding clause to prevent gay marriages from being celebrated there.

Unlike the Netherlands, a couple need not reside in Ontario or be Canadian citizens in order to be granted a marriage licence there.

The provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia currently recognize civil unions.

In 1999, homosexual couples in Canada were ruled to have the same rights to common-law marriage as heterosexual couples, in the Supreme Court of Canada's decision in M. v. H. [1999] 2 S.C.R. 3. However this decision stopped short of giving them the right to undertake same-sex civil marriages. Common-law relationships are not marriage. Married couples have additional responsibilities to each other - for example, during divorce the accumulated wealth is split 50/50. This is not necessarily so in common-law relationships.

Provincial appellate court decisions in Ontario (July 12, 2002), Quebec (September 6, 2002), and British Columbia (May 1, 2003) require the federal government to implement full same-sex marriage within the next two years, although the Federal Liberal government has sought leave to appeal the constitutionality of these rulings to the Supreme Court of Canada.

Nevertheless, the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights undertook to study same-sex marriage, including a cross-country series of public hearings, during the first part of 2003. Pursuant to its forthcoming recommendation, the Liberal government could decide to launch a bill calling for the legal recognition of same-sex marriage. If they do not, the Supreme Court of Canada could rule (pursuant to the above-mentioned decisions) that the marriage law violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms invalidating the requirement that marriage be between a man and a woman and directing the law to be amended to state that marriage be between two persons.

External links

Other forms of same-sex partnership

A small but increasing number of jurisdictions recognize gay "civil unions" or "registered partnerships", which provide much of the same rights and responsibilities as marriage but use a different name for the arrangement. Examples are Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Germany, the Canadian provinces of Quebec and Nova Scotia, and the American state of Vermont.

For information on these, see civil union.

Many more areas in the world (usually local municipalites and counties) allow domestic partnerships that have varying degrees of privileges and responsibilities, usually far fewer than those found in civil unions.

The fight over same-sex marriage in the United States

To be expanded - Defense of Marriage Act, etc.