THE GAY LIBERATION MOVEMENT DURING THE 2000s
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Main developments:
 | 2000:
 | On JAN-12, homosexuals became able to serve in the British armed
forces. |
| On MAR-12, The European
Parliament passed a resolution which recommended that same-sex unions be
granted the same legal recognition as heterosexual marriages. It called
on all 15 members of the European Union "to make rapid progress in
the area of mutual recognition of the various forms of living together
legally, but not of a conjugal character, and of legal marriages between
persons of the same sex." The vote was 265 to 125, with 33
abstentions. |
| On MAR-7, California voters approved Proposition 22. This is a
"Defense Of Marriage Act" (DOMA), which restricts
marriage to one man and one woman. |
| On APR-26, Governor
Howard Dean (VT-D) signed the Vermont civil union bill into law. It gives same-sex
couples the same state rights as opposite-sex married couples have
always enjoyed. Same-sex couples are denied federal benefits, however. |
| On JUL-1, Gays and
lesbians were able to obtain their civil union certificates in Vermont. |
| On SEP-12, the lower
house passed a bill (109 to 33) which would allow Dutch citizens who are
involved in same-sex relationships to marry, "with all the trappings,
including adoption and divorce -- [they approved] a bill that gives gays
rights beyond those offered anywhere else." |
| During the presidential campaign, Democrats Al Gore and Bill Bradley
promised to reverse the ban on homosexuals in the military; Republicans
Bush and McCain promised to preserve the Don't Ask, Don't Tell
policy. Bauer, Forbes, and Keys promised to prohibit military service by
all gays and lesbians. |
|
| 2001:
| On APR-1, Dutch same-sex couples joined with opposite-sex couples in
being able to obtain marriage licenses from the state. This is the first
time in recent history that gays and lesbians have been allowed to marry
in any country. |
| On JUN-1, same-sex couples in Nova Scotia, Canada, became eligible
to register their domestic partnership at the province's Office of Vital
Statistics. |
| On JUL-12: The
Alliance for Marriage
has proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex
marriage. It reads: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only
of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this constitution or the
constitution of any state, nor state or federal law, shall be construed
to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be
conferred upon unmarried couples or groups." |
| On SEP-6, the first same-sex partnerships were registered in London,
UK. |
| On SEP-21, the California legislature passed a bill giving rights to
domestic partners. |
|
| 2002:
| On JUL-12, in a 129 page
decision, "three Ontario [Canada] Superior Court judges unanimously ruled in a
Divisional Court decision that the current legal definition of marriage
[in Ontario] is discriminatory, and ordered it changed to include
recognition of same-sex marriage." They have given the Ontario and
Federal governments 24 months in which to change their legislation so
that same-sex couples can marry. More details.
This is a momentous development, because federal legislation defines
marriage, and the provincial marriage laws implement the federal laws.
Thus a change at the federal level will make same-sex marriage available
to all same-sex couples who wish to be married. The Ontario government,
which was under the control of the conservative party decided to not
appeal the court's decision. The federal government later decided to not
appeal the ruling. |
|
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| 2003:
| The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Texas' anti-sodomy law, which
had criminalized consensual same-sex sexual behavior in private, was
unconstitutional. The decision by the court was so broad that it
also wiped similar laws from the books of 15 other states. |
|
| 2004:
| For the first time in U.S. history, same-sex couples were able
to purchase marriage licenses in Massachusetts starting on May-17.
|
| By the end of the year, same sex couples were able to
marry in seven out of ten provinces and one out of three territories
in Canada. |
|
| 2005:
| FEB-01, the Canadian
federal government introduced bill C-38 to make same-sex marriages
available across Canada. |
| On APR-20, governor M. Jodi Rell (R) of Connecticut signed a bill
into law which will make civil unions available to same-sex couples in
the state starting on 2005-OCT-01. |
|
Related essays in this web site:
References:
- Tracy Huffman, Ontario judges say federal law is discriminatory,"
Toronto Star, 2002-JUL-13, Pages A1 & A23.
Copyright © 2002 to 2005 by Ontario Consultants on Religious
Tolerance
Originally written: 2002-JUL-23
Latest update: 2005-MAY-08
Author: B.A. Robinson
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