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Homosexuality and bisexuality

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Same-sex marriages (SSM), civil unions,
domestic partnerships
& other human rights issues

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We use the acronym "SSM" throughout this section to represent "same-sex marriage"
We use the acronym "LGBT" to refer to lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender persons and transsexuals.

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Worldwide SSM status as of 2010-JUL-16:

Countries of the world where SSM is legal 8

Apology: Somehow, the Opera browser deletes the light gray outline of countries
that do not provide SSM from the above image. Sorry about that.
Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari show the image properly.
The Adobe Dreamweaver program -- used to write essays on this website --
doesn't show the image properly either. But that's my problem, not yours.

The next countries to legalize SSM are expected to be Nepal, Scotland and the rest of the UK.
Not shown above are individual cities, states, and provinces where SSM has been legalized.

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Aspects of same-sex marriage (SSM) discussed in this section:

SSM is very controversial. Preventing same-sex couples from marrying is considered by many religious and social conservatives to be even more important than restricting women's access to abortion. Thus, we have devoted a very large section in our web site to this topic. It is difficult to keep this section up to date, because there is -- or has been -- separate battles for and against SSM in the District of Columbia and in each of tne 50 states and in Congress.

bullet Introductory material:
bullet

Background material:       <<< Please read these two essays first!

bullet

Summary: quotes, terminology, a book on SSM  <<< Please read this next!

bullet Status of SSM and civil unions, as they existed in mid-2005
 
bullet Timeline of changes: SSMs and civil unions, worldwide:
bullet From 2001 to 2004
bullet

From 2005 to 2008

bullet

From 2009 to now


bullet

Current status of SSM and civil unions.

bullet SSM in Canada: an overview

bullet Harms resulting from:
bullet The denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples

bullet Same-sex marriage itself according to some conservatives
 
bullet Health benefits resulting from SSM

bullet Quotations showing the diversity of beliefs about SSM

 

bullet Additional material:
bullet Changes, including re-definitions, of marriages since before biblical times

bullet Recent trends in marriage in the U.S.

bullet Why are couples not permitted to marry?
bullet A related topic: the battle over inter-racial marriage in the U.S.

bullet Why do some same-sex couples want to marry?

bullet Disagreements over whether same-sex marriage should be permitted
bullet Is same-sex marriage a good or bad idea? A threat to the institution of marriage, or a beneficial cultural change?
bullet Analysis of Family Research Council`s stance on SSM
bullet Arguments against SSM raised by the National Organization for marriage
bullet Allowing military chaplains to conduct SSM ceremonies
bullet Inside a "scary, society-destroying family" led by parents of the same sex
bullet A speech by Ed Fallon in opposition to a state DOMA law in Iowa

bullet How do children fare with same-sex parents?
bullet One child with three legal parents: a Canadian court decision

bullet Governments that recognize same-sex relationships

bullet Companies that extend benefits to partners of gay/lesbian employees

bullet Marriage benefits denied to gay & lesbian couples

bullet A sampling of opinions by religious leaders and individuals
 
bullet Religion and SSM:
bullet Faith groups' policies toward same-sex marriages and equal rights for gays

bullet The Bible and same-sex marriages

bullet Two aspects to marriage: civil and religious: should they be separated?

bullet Marriage and family forms in the Bible and now

bullet Opposition by the Black religious community towards marriage equality

bullet Article in Newsweek in support of SSM (2008-DEC-15)

bullet TV ad by the National Organization for Marriage opposing SSM

bullet Laws in the U.S. and elsewhere in the world:
bullet Legal aspect of same-sex marriages

bullet US court & legislative activity restricting same-sex marriage - DOMA laws
bullet The Nebraska DOMA law declared unconstitutional

bullet Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA) to the U.S. Constitution

bullet An interpretation of the U.S. Constitution

bullet Will SSM inevitably lead to decriminalizing polygamy?
 
bullet International declarations on the rights of LGBT persons
 
bullet Laws in other countries that oppress or protect LGBT persons
 
bullet Public opinion polls:
bullet In the U.S.:
bullet Single polls
bullet Repeated polls:
bullet On same-sex marriage
bullet On same-sex civil unions

bullet In Canada:
bullet 1996 to 2002;
bullet 2003
bullet 2004
bullet 2005 This is the year in which SSM was legalized across Canada
bullet 2006

bullet Anecdotal comments about SSM

bullet Status of SSM, civil unions, etc. in the U.S.:
bullet LGBT news items 1996 to 2010

bullet Overview in the U.S.

bullet

Recognition of same-sex relationships seems to have reached a tipping point on 2011-FEB-23

bullet Within Native American Nations:
bullet Cherokee Nation
bullet Coquille Nation

bullet Within American states and the District of Columbia
bullet Alaska
bullet Arizona
bullet California ***
bullet The Pursuit of equality, a documentary DVD
bullet Connecticut *
bullet Delaware
bullet District of Columbia *
bullet Hawaii
bullet Illinois
bullet Iowa *
bullet Maine
bullet Maryland ** << SSM being actively debated
bullet Massachusetts *
bullet New Hampshire *
bullet New Jersey << SSM being actively debated
bullet New York *
bullet New Mexico **
bullet North Carolina
bullet Oregon
bullet Rhode Island
bullet Vermont  *
bullet Virginia
bullet Washington DC *
bullet Washington state << SSM being actively debated
bullet Wisconsin
bullet Wyoming
bullet Issuing of SSM marriage licenses in various states in early 2004
bullet Activity in other states

* SSM available now: 6 states and Washington DC.
** Out-of-state SSMs recognized: 3 states.
*** SSM once available; lawsuits underway to reinstate SSM: 1 state


bullet Status of SSM elsewhere in the world:

bullet Canada: Ten provincial/territorial court cases and one federal government decision This is a big section!

bullet Outside North America:
bullet

Argentina: SSM bill considered. SSM bill passes parliament

bullet Australia
bullet Belgium
bullet UK: England, Northern Ireland, and Wales, but not including Scotland
bullet India
bullet Israel
bullet Netherlands
bullet Norway
bullet New Zealand
bullet Portugal
bullet

Scotland: Part 1  Part 2

bullet South Africa
bullet Spain
bullet Switzerland
bullet Sweden
bullet Other locations: Albania to England    Germany to Uruguay

Sponsored link:

Amazon.com lists the following books on same-sex marriage that you can safely order from their online bookstore.

If a generic Amazon.com ad is displayed, click on your browser's refresh icon.

Site navigation:

Home > Religious info. > Basic > Marriage > Same-sex marriage > here

Home > "Hot" topics > Homosexuality> Same-sex marriage > here

References used:

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

  1. "Of Marriage and Divorce," Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 26, Section 6.135, at: http://www.ccel.org/ or http://www.sacred-texts.com
  2. Philip Pullella, "Gay marriage, abortion new forms of evil: Pope," The Toronto Star, 2005-FEB-23, Page A14.
  3. "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/
  4. "Spanish pro-family leader decries government policies," Catholic World News, 2005-JUN-20, at: http://www.cwnews.com/
  5. 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.
  6. Cynthia Needham, "Hearing revives R.I.'s gay-marriage debate," Rhode Island News, 2009-MAY-13, at: http://www.projo.com/
  7. Jim Burroway, "About Us: The Tale of the Box Turtle." Box Turtle Bulletin, 2007-JAN-09, at: http://www.boxturtlebulletin.com/
  8. "Argentine Senate backs bill legalizing gay marriage," BBC News, 2010-JUL-15, at: http://www.bbc.co.uk
  9. Nathan Black, "Christians need to prepare for same-sex marriage," Christian Post, 2011-FEB-26, at: http://www.christianpost.com

Copyright © 1997 to 2011 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2011-DEC-17
Author: B.A. Robinson

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