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Same-sex marriages (SSM) & civil unions

Current status: in U.S.,
Canada, South America, Europe, etc.

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SSM status as of 2011-JAN:

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Apology: Somehow, Opera browsers delete the outline of countries that do not provide SSM from the
above image. Sorry about that. The Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari browsers show the image properly.

Since this map was prepared, Nepal has authorized SSMs.
Not shown are individual cities and states/provinces, like Mexico City, where SSM is legal

Current status in the U.S.:

At the moment, the United States is a bit of a patchwork quilt and is liable to remain as such for years. A same-sex couple who had married, say, in Massachusetts, can go on a few hour-long drive, with their children wander through a number of states, briefly enter Canada, and change their status repeatedly:

In Canada: they would be regarded as married. They and their children would have full provincial and federal rights.

In the U.S. depending upon the state they were in, they would be: Considered married, and having full state rights but no federal rights. Recognized as being civil unionized, and having full state rights but no federal rights. Recognized as being in a domestic partnership and having some state rights, but no federal rights. Being divorced against their will, considered roommates, having their children regarded as illegitimate, having no guaranteed access to each other if one enters a hospital, unable to make medical decisions if their partner is incapacitated, etc.

• Adoption.
• Same-sex marriage
• Employment discrimination
• Discrimination in accomodations.

The snapshot, which is a PDF file, can be viewed at: http://data.lambdalegal.org/  The document has a disclaimer: "This document offers general information only and not legal advice about specific situations."

	Same-sex marriage in 7 jurisdictions: Same-sex couples can marry in: Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York (became effective on 2011-JUL-24), Vermont and the District of Columbia. They were able to marry in California for much of 2008; a lawsuit to restore this right is currently active before the Federal courts. However, because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act, (DOMA) the federal government does not recognize their marriages, and offers them no benefits, recognitions, protections etc., other than that given to roommates.
	Civil unions and registered domestic partnerships are authorized by law in 7 jurisdictions: Same-sex couples can obtain most or all of the state benefits of marriage in California, Hawaii (effective 2012-JAN-01), Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington state.
	New Mexico recognizes valid SSMs performed elsewhere.

About 46% of the U.S. population resides in a state where same-sex couples can either marry, enter into a civil union or register a domestic partnership.

	States typically provide a few hundred benefits, protections and rights to all married couples and their children.
	The 1,049 federal rights, benefits and privileges automatically given to married opposite-sex couples are denied same-sex couples because of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

Current status in Canada:

Since 2005-JUL-20. all loving, committed couples -- both same-sex and opposite-sex -- have been able marry in all but one province and in all three territories of Canada, The one exception was Prince Edward Island (PEI). Their provincial government initially couldn't figure out a process that would enable them to marry same sex couples. Their motivation to find a solution quickly increased when they faced a lawsuit from a lesbian couple. Realizing that they had zero chance of winning at court, the province quickly devised a mechanism to marry the couple.

Both same-sex and opposite-sex couples can marry in Canada whether they are Canadians or citizens of another country.

Late 2009 public opinion polls indicate that about two in three Canadian adults approve of marriage equality. The topic is very rarely discussed in the media, with the exception of wedding announcements.

More details.

Status in South America at 2011-JAN:

In different countries in the world, holding a same-sex marriage ritual can involve anything from a great celebration to a risk of arrest, trial and execution. The latter is the law in six predominately Muslim countries. Countries in South America do not go quite to these extremes. Reaction ranges from celebrations and marriage registration in Argentina, to an arrest, trial, and a potential life sentence in Guyana.

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1. Year 2000: * Netherlands: Gay and lesbian couples, who are either citizens of the Netherlands or who have residency permits, are able to marry and adopt. This was the first country in the world to make same-sex marriages available. More details.
2. 2003: Belgium: Same-sex couples couples who are residents or citizens can marry, but cannot yet adopt. More details.
   
3. Spain: 2005: The country legalized SSM in 2005-JUN. More details.
   
4. Canada: 2005: The country legalized SSM in 2005-JUL-20. More details. Because of Canada's closeness to the U.S. in terms of culture and geography, we have covered events leading up to SSM in detail.
5. South Africa: 2006: Their Constitutional Court -- South Africa's highest court -- ruled on 2005-DEC that same-sex marriages must be legalized within a year. On 2006-NOV-15, their legislature passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage, by a vote of 230 to 41 with three abstentions.
6. Norway: 2008: Enabling legislation was passed during 2008-JUN; since 2009, same-sex couples have been able to marry. More details.
   
7. Sweden: 2009: Enabling legislation was overwhelmingly passed by Parliament on 2009-APR-01. It took effect on 2009-MAY-01. More details.
8. Mexico City: 2009: The city became the first jurisdiction in Latin America to legalize SSM on 2009-DEC-21.
9. Argentina: 2009: Ushuaia, the southern-most city in the world saw the first SSM in Latin America. It is located in Tierra del Fuego province at the southern tip of Argentina. More info.
10. Portugal: 2010: Amazingly, this country in which 97% of the population identifies with the Roman Catholic Church, turned its back on the Church's teachings and legalized SSM. The first same-sex couple were married on JUN-07
11. Iceland: 2010: The first same-sex couple to be married was Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and her long-time female partner Jonina Leosdottir.
12. Argentina: 2010: By mid-July, both houses in the Government had passed a same-sex marriage bill amid intense opposition from the Roman Catholic Church and evangelical Christian groups. It was signed into law; same-sex marriages have been available since 2010-JUL-22. More details.
     

Europe: Many countries in Europe have created a type of civil union for same-sex couples which grant them most or all of the benefits and obligations of marriage. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged to convince European countries who have no same-sex marriage or civil union law to recognize those same-sex couples' civil unions contracted in Britain. He said: "We want countries where that hasn't been the case - especially in Eastern Europe - to recognize them. We're negotiating agreements with France and then with Spain. ...If we could show eastern Europe as well as western Europe, that this respect for gay people is due, that would be really important. Of course it will be tough, and will take many years, but that has never ever been a good reason not to fight." 2

Israel: This country is unique in the world, in that only a minority of citizens have the right to marry in the country. All same-sex couples and most opposite-sex couples are not permitted to marry within Israel. The latter couples who are not of a specific religion -- e.g. Orthodox Judaism -- must leave the country, get married elsewhere, return to Israel and register their foreign marriages. Due to a loophole in the law, this applies also to same-sex couples. The loophole is expected to be plugged eventually. More details.

Timeline of SSM events in the U.S., Canada, Europe, etc.

References used:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlink are not necessarily still active today.

1. The large graphic is copied from Wikipedia at: http://en.wikipedia.org/ This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License. You are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it only under a license identical to this one. See: Official license. Image updated from Wikipedia periodically.
2. Hilary White, "UK Prime Minister Pledges to Force Gay Civil Union Recognition in Eastern Europe," LifeSiteNews.com, 2009-DEC-18, at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/
3. "Argentine Senate backs bill legalizing gay marriage," BBC News, 2010-JUL-15, at: http://www.bbc.co.uk
4. "Same-sex marriage in Argentina," Wikipedia, as on 2011-JAN-10, at: http://en.wikipedia.org/

Copyright © 2003 to 2011 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update and review: 2011-AUG-19
Author: B.A. Robinson

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