Same-sex marriage (SSM)

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The pros and cons of SSM: All viewpoints included

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Accommodating past changes in the institution of marriage:

Marriage has taken many forms, throughout history:

The Hebrew Scriptures (a.k.a. Old Testament) describe seven different marriage/family forms that were practiced in ancient Israel, in addition to the standard "one man-one woman" format.

Marriage in North America has evolved in different ways over the past 16 decades: Polygamous marriages were introduced in the 1840s and partly phased out in 1890. Many tens of thousands of couples still practice polygyny, mainly in the state of Utah and the Canadian province of British Columbia. They are almost never prosecuted. Marriages by African-American slaves were banned in some U.S. states, and only permitted after the conclusion of the civil war. Inter-racial marriages were considered a criminal act in some states until 1958. Same-sex marriages were unavailable until 2003-JUN-10 when they became legal in Ontario, and 2003-MAY-02 in British Columbia, Canada. The Massachusetts Supreme Court granted same sex couples the right to marry starting 2004-MAY-20. SSM became available across Canada on 2005-JUL-20. The only exception was Prince Edward Island whose government was initially unable to figure out how to marry same-sex couples. They were heavily motivated to find a way after being faced with a lawsuit by a lesbian couple. They quickly fell into line with the rest of the country.

These four changes were painful experiences for many North Americans at the time. However, people were able to take the first three changes in stride. If the letters-to-the-editor columns of major Canadian newspapers are any indication, Canadians seem to have reacted to same-sex marriages with a collective yawn.

Same-sex marriage (SSM) topics covered in this section:

	Four major historic changes to marriage in North America
	Twenty-six reasons why SSM is a bad idea, with rebuttals : Reasons 1 to 7 Reasons 8 to 14 Reasons 15 to 21 Reasons 22  to 26
	Eight reasons why SSM is a good idea, with rebuttals:  Reasons 1 to 8
	Reasons why SSM is bad, as explained on a Muslim web site

Related sections in our website:

	References to same-sex sexual behavior in the Bible.
	What different faith groups and religions believe about homosexuality

The Amazon.com online bookstore offers the following books on same-sex marriages. They are a secure location from which to buy books and other items:

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Copyright © 2003 to 2011 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2003-JUL-10
Latest update: 2011-AUG-04
Author: B.A. Robinson

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