We use the acronym "SSM" to represent "same-sex marriage"
Overview of SSM in the U.S.:
The fight over interracial marriage is as similar a topic to SSM as exists in
America. In 1948, California became the first state in the U.S. to allow interracial
couples to marry. Another 19 years passed before the U.S. Supreme Court changed
the definition of marriage in 1967 and made interracial marriage available to
loving, committed couples across the entire country, whether of the same race or
different races.
In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex couples to
marry. California and
Connecticut became the second and third in 2008.
in 2008-NOV, SSM in California was terminated by
Proposition 8 which restricted marriage to one woman in a union with one man.
The
Supreme Court of California ruled that Prop. 8 was
constitutional. However, the court did not forcibly divorce couples who married during 2008
when marriages were available.
If same-sex marriage takes as long as interracial marriage to spread across
the country, the process will take until the mid 2020s to complete. The author
of these essay, having being born in 1936, does not expect to see it during his
lifetime.
Aspects of same-sex marriage (SSM) discussed in this section:
* SSM available now or in the near future: 6 states.
** Out-of-state SSMs recognized: 1 state and DC.
*** SSM once available; lawsuit underway to reinstate SSM: 1 state
Philip Pullella, "Gay marriage, abortion new forms of evil: Pope," The Toronto Star, 2005-FEB-23, Page A14.
"Stew" posting a response to "Dispatches from the Culture
Wars" bulletin board on the topic "Canada paves the way for gay marriage,"
on 2004-DEC-09. See:
http://www.stcynic.com/
"Spanish pro-family leader decries government policies,"
Catholic World News, 2005-JUN-20, at:
http://www.cwnews.com/
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Ministry to
persons with a homosexual inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care,"
2006-NOV-14, at: http://www.usccb.org/
This is a PDF file.