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Same-sex marriage

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Part of the LGBT rights series
Marriage

Recognized

Civil unions and
registered partnerships
Minimal recognition
See also
Notes
  1. KoN: Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
  2. NZ: Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
  3. UK: Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
  4. US: Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
  5. Israel: Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
  6. EU: The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
  7. Cambodia: Recognition of a "declaration of family relationship", which may be useful in matters such as housing, but they are not legally binding.
  8. China: Guardianship agreements, conferring some limited legal benefits, including decisions about medical and personal care.
  9. HK: Inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
  10. India: Courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
  11. Japan: Some cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
  12. Namibia: Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse recognized for residency rights.
  13. Romania: Hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status.
  14. South Korea: Spousal health insurance benefits
* Not yet in effect
LGBT portal

Same-sex marriage (also called gay marriage) is a legally or socially recognized marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender.

Same-sex marriage is a civil rights, political, social, and/or religious issue in many western nations. The conflict arises from the term "marriage" being used to include same-sex relationships as well as an often-overlapping government-endorsed civil status with legal benefits.[1]Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).

Support for same-sex marriage is often based upon what is regarded as a universal human rights issue, equality before the law,[2] and the goal of normalizing LGBT relationships.[3][4][5]

Opposition to same-sex marriage is often based upon the inclusion of same-sex couples in the word marriage. Other reasons may include direct and indirect social consequences of same-sex marriages, parenting concerns, freedom of religion concerns,[6] religious grounds,[7] tradition, and/or homophobia.[8][9][10][11][12]

Etymology and terminological usage

The word "marriage" comes from Old French mariage, from marier (“‘to marry’”), from Latin maritare (“‘to marry", literally “give in marriage’”), from maritus (“‘lover", "nuptial’”), from mas (“‘male", "masculine", "of the male sex’”).[13]

According to Confucius, "Marriage is the union (of the representatives) of two different surnames, in friendship and in love, in order to continue the posterity of the former sages, and to furnish those who shall preside at the sacrifices to heaven and earth, at those in the ancestral temple, and at those at the altars to the spirits of the land and grain."[14]

Anthropologists have struggled to come up with a definition of marriage that absorbs commonalities of the social construct across cultures.[15][16] Edvard Westermarck defined marriage in the 1922 edition of The History of Human Marriage as "a relation of one or more men to one or more women which is recognized as custom or law and involves certain rights and duties" to the individuals who enter into it, and any children born from it.[17] Such definitions failed to recognize same-sex marriages that have been documented around the world, including in more than 30 African cultures, such as the Kikuyu and Nuer.[16][18][19]

In lexicography, words have changed and expanded in accordance to the status quo. In the last ten years, in the English-speaking world, all major dictionaries have either dropped gender specifications, or supplemented them with secondary definitions to include gender-neutral language or same-sex unions.[20][21] The Oxford English Dictionary has recognized same-sex marriage since 2000.[22]

Some proponents of same-sex marriages use the term marriage equality[23] or gender-neutral marriage[24] to stress that they seek equality as opposed to special rights. Some opponents argue that equating same-sex and opposite-sex marriages changes the meaning of marriage and its traditions[25], and some use the term "traditional marriage" to mean marriages between one man and one woman.[26]

Alan Dershowitz and others have suggested reserving the word "marriage" for religious contexts as part of privatizing marriage, and in civil and legal contexts using a uniform concept of civil unions, in part to strengthen the separation between church and state.[27] Jennifer Roback Morse, the president of the anti-same-sex marriage group National Organization for Marriage's Ruth Institute project[28], claims that the conflation of marriage with contractual agreements is itself a threat to marriage.[29]

Use in print and online media

Some publications that oppose same-sex marriages adopt an editorial style policy of placing the word marriage in quotation marks ("marriage") when it is used in reference to same-sex couples. In the United States, the mainstream press has generally abandoned this practice.[30] Some socially conservative online publications, such as WorldNetDaily and Baptist Press, still follow the practice. Cliff Kincaid argues for use of quotation marks on the grounds that marriage is a legal status denied same-sex couples by most state governments.[31] Same-sex marriage supporters argue that the use of scare quotes is an editorialization that implies illegitimacy.[32]

Associated Press style recommends the usages marriage for gays and lesbians or in space-limited headlines gay marriage with no hyphen and no scare quotes. AP warns that the construct gay marriage can imply that marriage licenses offered to gay and lesbian couples are somehow legally different, as such it should be avoided as much as possible in favor of marriage for gays and lesbians.

History

Main articles: History of same-sex unions and Timeline of same-sex marriage

Ancient

Various types of same-sex marriages have existed,[33] ranging from informal, unsanctioned relationships to highly ritualized unions.[34]

In the southern Chinese province of Fujian, through the Ming dynasty period, females would bind themselves in contracts to younger females in elaborate ceremonies.[35] Males also entered similar arrangements. This type of arrangement was also similar in ancient European history.[36]

The first recorded mention of the performance of same-sex marriages occurred during the early Roman Empire.[37] These same sex marriages were solemnized with the same ceremonies and customs which were used for heterosexual marriages.[38] Cicero mentions the marriage (using the latin verb for "to marry", i.e. nubere) of the son of Curio the Elder in a casual manner as if it was commonplace. Cicero states that the younger Curio was "united in a stable and permanent marriage" to Antonius.[39] Martial also mentions a number of gay marriages.[40] By Juvenal's time, gay marriages seem to have become commonplace as he mentions attending gay marriages as if there were "nothing special."[41]. These gay marriages continued until Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. A law in the Theodosian Code (C. Th. 9.7.3) was issued in 342 AD by the Christian emperors Constantius II and Constans. This law prohibited same-sex marriage in ancient Rome and ordered that those who were so married were to be executed.[42][43]

Modern

In October 1989, Denmark became the first nation to recognize same-sex unions in the form of "registered partnerships". In 2001, the Netherlands became the first nation to grant same-sex marriages.[44] Same-sex marriages are granted and mutually recognized by Belgium (2003),[45] Spain (2005), Canada (2005), South Africa (2006), Norway (2009), and Sweden (2009). In Nepal, their recognition has been judicially mandated but not yet legislated.[46]

The Canadian Parliament approved the granting and recognition of same-sex marriages by defining marriage as “the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others” in July 2005. A Conservative Government motion inviting MPs to request repeal of same-sex marriage in Canada failed in December 2006, so same-sex marriages continue to be honored throughout the nation.[47]

Current status

Main articles: Status of same-sex marriages and Same-sex marriage legislation around the world
Worldwide laws regarding same-sex intercourse, unions and expression
Same-sex intercourse illegal. Penalties:
  Death
  Prison; death not enforced
  Death under militias
  Prison, with arrests or detention
  Prison, not enforced1
Same-sex intercourse legal. Recognition of unions:
  Marriage
  Extraterritorial marriage2
  Civil unions
  Limited domestic
  Limited foreign
  Optional certification
  None
  Restrictions of expression
  Restrictions of association with arrest or detention
Rings indicate local or case-by-case application.
1No imprisonment in the past three years or moratorium on law.
2Marriage not available locally. Some jurisdictions may perform other types of partnerships.

The Netherlands, Belgium, Canada, Spain, Norway, and Sweden are the only countries in which the legal status of same-sex marriages are exactly the same as that of opposite-sex marriages. Nepal's highest court, in November 2008, issued final judgment on matters related to LGBT rights. Based on the court recommendation the government announced its intention to introduce a same-sex marriage bill by 2010.[48][49][50][51][52]

The granting and honoring of same-sex marriages is also currently being considered by several countries in Europe, such as in Portugal[53] where the recognition of same-sex marriages is officially on the platforms of the main political party, the Socialists.[53][54][55] The current governing party of Iceland has also recently hinted that it intends to reconstruct its marriage laws, thereby making them gender neutral.[56] In early July, the minister of Slovenia announced that the country would likely legalize same-sex marriages in the near future after the government agreed that same-sex couples deserve to be entitled to all of the same benefits of opposite-sex couples.[57] The new government of Luxembourg has also announced its intention to legalize same-sex marriage.[58]

Additional South American nations have taken up such proposals, with the Justice Minister of Argentina working to submit a gender neutral law draft before the Congress,[59] while the Parliament of Venezuela debates a same-sex marriage bill.[60]

Australia bans recognition of same-sex marriages at the federal level, but the current Australian Labor Party government favors synchronized state and territory registered partnership legislation (as in Tasmania and Victoria). The Australian Capital Territory has civil unions.

New Zealand's Parliament rejected a bill that would have prohibited the recognition of same-sex marriage in New Zealand in December 2005. However, New Zealand's Marriage Act 1955 still only recognizes marriage rights for opposite-sex couples. New Zealand's marriage laws consider transsexuals who have undergone reassignment surgery as having changed sex for legal purposes, following Family Court and High Court of New Zealand decisions in 1995.

Israel's High Court of Justice ruled to honor same-sex marriages granted in other countries even though Israel itself does not issue such licenses. A bill was raised in the Knesset (parliament) to rescind the High Court's ruling, but the Knesset has not advanced the bill since December 2006.

In France, in 2006, a 30-member non-quorum parliamentary commission of the French National Assembly published a 453-page Report on the Family and the Rights of Children, which rejected same-sex marriages.[61]

Africa

Main article: LGBT rights in Africa

Same-sex marriage became legal in South Africa on 30 November 2006 when the Civil Unions Bill was enacted after having been passed by the South African Parliament earlier that month. A ruling by the Constitutional Court on 1 December 2005 had imposed a deadline of 1 December 2006 to make same-sex marriage legal. South Africa became the fifth country, the first in Africa, and the second outside Europe, to legalize same-sex marriage. In 2006, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo introduced legislation that prohibits same-sex marriages and criminalizes anyone who "performs, witnesses, aids or abets" such ceremonies.[62]

Amongst the Igbo people of Nigeria there are circumstances where a marriage between two women is allowed, such as when a woman has no child and the husband dies.[63]

International organizations

The terms of employment of the staff of international organizations (not commercial) in most cases are not governed by the laws of the country in which their offices are located. Agreements with the host country safeguard these organizations' impartiality.

Despite their relative independence, few organizations currently recognize same-sex partnerships without condition. The agencies of the United Nations voluntarily discriminate between opposite-sex marriages and same-sex marriages, as well as discriminating between employees on the basis of nationality. These organizations recognize same-sex marriages only if the country of citizenship of the employees in question recognizes the marriage. In some cases, these organizations do offer a limited selection of the benefits normally provided to opposite-sex married couples to de facto partners or domestic partners of their staff, but even individuals who have entered into an opposite-sex civil union in their home country are not guaranteed full recognition of this union in all organizations. However, the World Bank does recognize domestic partners.[64]

United States

Main article: Same-sex marriage in the United States

In the United States, although same-sex marriages are not recognized federally, same-sex couples can currently marry in six states, and receive state level benefits.[65][66] Additionally, several states offer civil unions or domestic partnerships, granting all or part of the state-level rights and responsibilities of marriage.[67][68] In 1996, the United States Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defining marriage solely as a union between a couple of the opposite sex for all federal purposes and allowing for the nonrecognition amongst the states.[69] President Barack Obama is opposed to same-sex marriage,[70] while he "supports full civil unions and federal rights for LGBT couples",[71] a full repeal of DOMA,[72] and called Proposition 8 "unnecessary". [73]

Other legally recognized same-sex unions

Main article: Civil union

Civil unions, civil partnerships, domestic partnerships, registered partnerships, or unregistered partnership/unregistered co-habitation legal status offer varying portions of the legal benefits of marriage and are available to same-sex couples in: Andorra, Australia, Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. They are also available in parts of Argentina (Villa Carlos Paz, Río Cuarto, Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Río Negro), Mexico (Coahuila and the Federal District), and the United States (California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, Wisconsin and Washington, and the federal District of Columbia).

Many advocates, such as this protester at a demonstration in New York City against California Proposition 8, reject the notion of civil unions.[74] U.S. Same-sex marriage movement activist Evan Wolfson does not feel civil unions are a replacement for full marriage equality.[75]

In some countries with legal recognition the actual benefits are minimal. Many people consider civil unions, even those which grant equal rights, inadequate, as they create a separate status, and think they should be replaced by gender-neutral marriage.[76]

Australia

In Australia, Commonwealth law prohibits the recognition of same-sex marriage. However, all states and territories provide a range of rights to same-sex cohabiting couples, equal to those afforded to opposite-sex de facto couples. These rights are gained without registration. Furthermore, formal domestic partnership registries exist in Tasmania, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. Since November 2008, same-sex couples are recognized as de facto partners in a wide range of Commonwealth legislation, including superannuation, social security, health care and taxation.[77] In 2007, Grace Abrams and Fiona Power became Australia's first legally recognized same-sex married couple after Grace Abrams had gender-modification surgery and was later officially granted a passport with female status.[78]

Europe

Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in Europe¹
  Marriage
  Civil union
  Limited domestic recognition (cohabitation)
  Limited foreign recognition (residency rights)
  Unrecognized
  Constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples
¹ May include recent laws or court decisions that have not yet entered into effect.

In Denmark, Finland, Hungary and Iceland, a registered partnership is "nearly" equal to marriage, including legal joint adoption rights in Denmark and Iceland. Finland and Greenland have biological adoption only (no joint adoption). These partnership laws are short laws that state that wherever the word "marriage" appears in the country's law, it will now also be construed to mean "registered partnership", and wherever the word "spouse" appears, it will now also be construed to mean "registered partner" — thereby transferring the body of marriage laws onto same-sex couples in registered partnerships.

In the United Kingdom, civil partnerships were introduced in 2005. The law gives civil partners the same benefits and associated legal rights of marriage; ranging from tax exemptions and joint property rights, to next-of-kin status and shared parenting responsibilities. The one notable exception is the use of courtesy titles by the partner of a male peer or knight. In the first year, 16,100 ceremonies took place.[79] Civil unions in New Zealand are identical to British civil partnerships in their association with equivalent spousal rights and responsibilities to marriage.

Transgender and intersex persons

See also: Transsexualism, Legal aspects of transsexualism, and Gender identity

When sex is defined legally, it may be defined by any one of several criteria: the XY sex-determination system, the type of gonads, or the type of external sexual features. Consequently, both transsexuals and intersexed individuals may be legally categorized into confusing gray areas, and could be prohibited from marrying partners of the "opposite" sex or permitted to marry partners of the "same" sex due to legal distinctions. This could result in long-term marriages, as well as recent same-sex marriages, being overturned.

The problems of defining gender by the existence/non-existence of gonads or certain sexual features is complicated by the existence of surgical methods to alter these features. Estimates[80] run as high as 1 percent of live births exhibiting some degree of sexual ambiguity, and between 0.1% and 0.2% of live births being ambiguous enough to become the subject of specialist medical attention, including sometimes involuntary surgery to address their sexual ambiguity.[81]

In any legal jurisdiction where marriages are defined without distinction of a requirement of a male and female, these complications do not occur. In addition, some legal jurisdictions recognize a legal and official change of gender, which would allow a transsexual to be legally married in accordance with an adopted gender identity.[82]

In the United Kingdom, the Gender Recognition Act 2004 allows a person who has lived in their chosen gender for at least two years to receive a gender recognition certificate officially recognizing their new gender. Because in the UK marriages are for mixed-sex couples and civil partnerships are for same-sex couples, a person must dissolve his/her marriage or civil partnership before obtaining a gender recognition certificate. Such persons are then free to enter or re-enter civil partnerships or marriages in accordance with their newly recognized gender identity.

In the United States, transsexual and intersexual marriages typically run into the complications detailed above. As definitions and enforcement of marriage are defined by the states, these complications vary from state to state.[83]

Controversy

While few societies have recognized same-sex unions as marriages, the historical and anthropological record reveals a large range of attitudes towards same-sex unions ranging from praise, to sympathetic toleration, to indifference, to prohibition. Organizations opposed to same-sex marriages have argued that same-sex marriages are not marriages,[84] that legalization of same-sex marriages will open the door for the legalization of polygamy,[85] that recognition of same-sex marriages would erode religious freedoms,[86] and that same-sex marriages deprive children of either a mother or a father.[87]

Some supporters of same-sex marriages take the view that the government should have no role in regulating personal relationships,[88] while others argue that same-sex marriages would provide social benefits to same-sex couples.[89] A 2004 Statement by the American Anthropological Association states that there is no evidence that society needs to maintain "marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution", and, further, that same-sex unions can "contribute to stable and humane societies."[90] The American Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, and National Association of Social Workers state: "There is no scientific basis for distinguishing between same-sex couples and heterosexual couples with respect to the legal rights, obligations, benefits, and burdens conferred by civil marriage.... Empirical research has consistently shown that lesbian and gay parents do not differ from heterosexuals in their parenting skills, and their children do not show any deficits compared to children raised by heterosexual parents.... [I]f their parents are allowed to marry, the children of same-sex couples will benefit not only from the legal stability and other familial benefits that marriage provides, but also from elimination of state-sponsored stigmatization of their families."[91]

The debate regarding same-sex marriages includes debate based upon social viewpoints as well as debate based on majority rules, religious convictions, economic arguments, health-related concerns, and a variety of other issues.

Judicial and legislative

Main article: Marriage_(conflict) § Same-sex_marriage

A "majority rules" position regards same-sex marriage as void and illegal unless it has been accepted by a simple majority of voters or of their elected representatives.[92] In contrast, a civil-rights view holds that, after carefully studying both sides of the controversy, an impartial judiciary, in upholding its constitutional duties, should decide whether the right to marry regardless of the gender of the participants is constitutionally guaranteed.[93]

From a strictly legal standpoint the Burden of proof lies with the party laying charges or wanting a change. In the case of same-sex marriage or same-sex parenting that burden lies with the proponents.

In general, the legal effect marriage has on same-sex couples when marriage licenses are issued to them and honored by the states in which they live is indistinguishable from any other legal effect marriage has on any other couple under state law. The United States has developed extensive case law and legislation addressing the nuance of American legal conceptions of equality before the law.

Religion

Main article: Religious arguments about same-sex marriage

Arguments both in opposition to and in favor of same-sex marriages are often made on religious grounds and/or formulated in terms of religious doctrine.

Islam

See also: Islam and homosexuality

Same-sex marriage is totally prohibited.[citation needed]

Christianity

Main article: Blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches
See also: List of Christian denominational positions on homosexuality
See also: Christianity and homosexuality

Christian opponents of same-sex marriage have thus far been largely from traditionally conservative Christian organizations.[citation needed] These Christian organizations have claimed that extending marriage rights to same-sex couples could undercut the conventional purpose of marriage, or would be contrary to God's will.[94][95][96] Christians opposed to same-sex marriage contend that "marriage" for homosexual couples is a misnomer as "marriage", by their definition, involves the uniting of two members of the opposite sex.[97][98][99] Christian opposition to same-sex marriage also comes from the belief that same-sex marriage normalizes homosexuality and would encourage individuals to act upon their homosexual feelings, rather than trying to overcome their same-sex attraction.[96] Biblical arguments against homosexuality, and by association same-sex marriage, may be based on biblical passages such as Genesis 19:5, Leviticus 18:22, and Leviticus 20:13, Romans 1, I Corinthians 6:8-10, and Jude 1:7. Many Christian groups have been vocal and politically active in opposing same-sex marriage laws in the United States.

Christian supporters of marriage rights for same-sex couples increasingly come from, but has not been limited to, those who practice progressive Christianity. These affirming Christian organizations have claimed that marriage rights for same-sex couples strengthens the institution of marriage and provides legal protection for children of gay and lesbian parents. Biblical apologetics for same-sex marriage rights for affirming Christian organizations may argue that the word "homosexual", as found in many modern versions of the Bible, is a transliteration not found in the original biblical texts.[100][101] One searching for the word "homosexual" in a biblical concordance such as Vines or Strong's will not find it. There also is no direct biblical prohibition of marriage rights for same-sex couples. Certain biblical texts used by non-affirming Christian organizations to condemn homosexuality, and by extension same-sex marriage, may refer only to specific sex acts and idolatrous worship lacking any relevance to contemporary same-sex relationships.[102] Supporting marriage rights for gays and lesbians is viewed by affirming Christians as a Christ-like commitment to the equality and dignity of all persons.[103][104][105] It is believed by some that, "human sexual orientations, whether heterosexual, bisexual or homosexual, are a gift from God."[106]

Judaism

Main article: Same-sex marriage and Judaism
See also: LGBT topics and Judaism
See also: Same-sex marriage in Israel

Judaism, like Christianity, contains varying views on the issue of marriage rights, both politically and religiously, for same-sex couples. Many Orthodox Jews maintain the traditional Jewish bans on both sexual acts and marriages amongst members of the same sex[107], but other orthodox rabbis, such as Steven Greenberg, disagree. Some Conservative Jews reject recognition of same-sex unions as marriages, but permit celebration of commitment ceremonies, while others recognize same-sex marriage.[108] The Union for Reform Judaism (formerly known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations) supports the inclusion of same-sex unions within the definition of marriage.[109] The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation leaves the choice to individual rabbis.[110]

Buddhism

Main article: LGBT topics and Buddhism

Buddhist scripture and teachings do not take a consistent stance against homosexuality, and do not specifically proscribe nor endorse same-sex marriage; thus, there is no unified stance for or against the practice.[111]

Children and the family

Main article: Same-sex marriage and the family

Opponents of same-sex marriage claim that children do best with both a mother and a father,[112][113] and that therefore the state should encourage the traditional family structure by discouraging others. Same-sex marriage opponent Maggie Gallagher claims that legal marriage is a way of encouraging monogamy and commitment by those who may create children through their sexual coupling.[114]

Those who advocate that marriage should be defined exclusively as the union of one woman and one man argue that opposite-sex couples provide the procreative foundation that is the chief building block of civilization.[citation needed] Proponents of same-sex marriage contend that by expanding marriage to LGBT individuals the state actually protects the rights of all married couples and, if they had any, of their children without discrimination while in no way affecting the rights of opposite sex married couples and their children, natural or adopted.[115] Some also counterclaim that the historic definition of marriage as a license to intercourse and as a license to the treating of a wife as a possession of her husband has already been changed by social progress reminding us that the legal equality men and women enjoy in modern marriage and that, in civilized society, it is no longer illegal to have sexual intercourse before marriage.[citation needed]

A study on marriage statistics of opposite-sex married couples by researcher Darren Spedale found that 15 years after Denmark had granted same-sex couples marriage-like partnership status, rates of opposite-sex marriage in those countries had gone up, and rates of opposite-sex divorce had gone down, contradicting the concept that same-sex marriages would have a negative effect on traditional marriages.[116]

However, a study on same-sex partnerships in Norway and Sweden found that short-term divorce risks are higher in same-sex partnerships than in opposite-sex marriages.[117] The authors stated that this may be due to same-sex couples' "non-involvement in joint parenthood" and "lower exposure to normative pressure about the necessity of life-long unions."[117]

A multi-method, multi-informant comparison of community samples of committed gay male and lesbian (30 participants each) couples with both committed (50 young engaged and 40 older married participants) and non-committed (109 exclusively dating) opposite-sex pairs was conducted in 2008.[118] Results indicated that individuals in committed same-sex relationships were generally not distinguishable from their committed opposite-sex counterparts.

Marriage privatization

A libertarian argument for marriage privatization holds that the state has no role in defining the terms whereby individuals contract to arrange their personal relationships, regardless of sexual orientation.[119][120][121] People holding this viewpoint argue that the state should have a limited role or no role in defining marriage, only in enforcing those contracts people construct themselves and willfully enter. Those following this line of reasoning believe that efforts to "legitimize" same-sex marriages as a state institution are backwards-looking, and will have the effect of expanding state influence into personal affairs where state influence already does not belong. People opposing same-sex marriages on these grounds, also support scaling back the definition by the state of contractual obligations between opposite sex partners to a same or similar degree.

Effects of same-sex marriage

Economic impact on same-sex couples

Dr. M. V. Lee Badgett, an economist and associate professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, has studied the impact of same-sex legal marriage on same-sex couples. According to a 1997 General Accounting Office study requested by Rep. Henry Hyde (R), at least 1,049 U.S. Federal laws and regulations include reference to marital status.[122] A later 2004 study by the Congressional Budget Office finds 1,138 statutory provisions "in which marital status is a factor in determining or receiving 'benefits, rights, and privileges.'"[123] Many of these laws govern property rights, benefits, and taxation. Same-sex couples are ineligible for spousal and survivor Social Security benefits. Badgett's research finds the resulting difference in Social Security income for same-sex couples compared to opposite-sex married couples is US$5,588 per year. The federal ban on same-sex marriage and benefits through the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) extends to federal government employee benefits. According to Badgett's work, same-sex couples face other financial challenges against which legal marriage at least partially shields opposite-sex couples:

  • potential loss of couple's home from medical expenses of one partner caring for another gravely ill one
  • costs of supporting two households, travel, or emigration out of the U.S. for an American citizen unable to legally marry a non-U.S. citizen
  • higher cost of purchasing private insurance for partner and children if company is not one of 18% that offer domestic partner benefits
  • higher taxes: unlike a company's contribution to an employee's spouse's health insurance, domestic partner benefits are taxed as additional compensation
  • legal costs associated with obtaining domestic partner documents to gain some of the power of attorney, health care decision-making, and inheritance rights granted through legal marriage
  • higher health costs associated with lack of insurance and preventative care: 20% of same-sex couples have a member who is uninsured compared to 10% of married opposite-sex couples
  • current tax law allows a spouse to inherit an unlimited amount from the deceased without incurring an estate tax but an unmarried partner would have to pay the estate tax on the inheritance from her/his partner
  • same-sex couples are not eligible to file jointly or separately as a married couple and thus cannot take the advantages of lower tax rates when the individual income of the partners differs significantly

While state laws grant full marriage rights (Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont) or some or all of the benefits under another name (New Jersey, California, etc.), these state laws do not extend the benefits of marriage on the Federal level, and most states do not currently recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions from other states.

One often overlooked aspect of same-sex marriage are the potential negative effects on same-sex couples. While the legal benefits of marriage are numerous, same-sex couples would face the same financial constraints of legal marriage as opposite-sex married couples. Such potential effects include the marriage penalty in taxation. Similarly, while social service providers usually do not count one partner's assets toward the income means test for welfare and disability assistance for the other partner, a legally married couple's joint assets are normally used in calculating whether a married individual qualifies for assistance.

Effects on the U.S. economy

Impact on businesses: Dr. M. V. Lee Badgett's research estimates the potential impact on businesses of same-sex marriage legalization to be US$2 billion to the wedding industry alone. Badgett derives this estimate by calculating the amount spent on weddings if a) half of same-sex couples marry and b) each couple spends 1/4 the average amount spent on a opposite-sex wedding (US$27,600 average wedding cost / 4=US$6,900 per same-sex couple).

Impact on employers: Addressing concerns about higher benefit costs for employers, Badgett and Mercer Human Resources Consulting separately find less than 1% of employees with a same-sex partner sign up for domestic partner benefits when a company offers them. Badgett finds less than 0.3% of Massachusetts firms' employees signed up for spousal benefits when that state legalized same-sex marriage.

Impact on governments: A 2004 Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report examines the impact of allowing the 1.2 million Americans in same-sex domestic partnerships in the 2000 Census to marry and finds the impact to be comparatively small in terms of the huge Federal budget. While some spending on Federal programs would increase, these outlays would be offset by savings in other spending areas. The report predicts that if same-sex marriage was legalized in all 50 states and on the Federal level, the U.S. government would bring in a net surplus of US$1 billion per year over the next 10 years.[123]

Opposing Viewpoints research indicates that allowing marriage for same-sex couples would stimulate the economy by increasing business activity, and thus increase sales tax revenues for the states where such marriages are permitted.[124] The Williams Institute of UCLA has conducted several studies which indicated allowing same-sex marriage would increase business activity in relevant industries and also boost state income tax revenues.[125]

Mental health

Recently, several psychological studies[126][127][128] have shown that an increase in exposure to negative conversations and media messages about same-sex marriage creates a harmful environment for the LGBT population that may affect their health and well-being.

One study surveyed more than 1,500 lesbian, gay and bisexual adults across the nation and found that respondents from the 25 states that have outlawed same-sex marriage had the highest reports of "minority stress" — the chronic social stress that results from minority-group stigmatization — as well as general psychological distress. According to the study, the negative campaigning that comes with a ban is directly responsible for the increased stress. Past research has shown that minority stress is linked to health risks such as risky sexual behavior and substance abuse.[129]

Two other studies examined personal reports from LGBT adults and their families living in Memphis, Tennessee, immediately after a successful 2006 ballot campaign banned same-sex marriage. Most respondents reported feeling alienated from their communities, afraid that they would lose custody of their children and that they might become victims of violence. The studies also found that families experienced a kind of secondary minority stress, says Jennifer Arm, a counseling graduate student at the University of Memphis.[130]

Ferguson, Horwood, and Beautrais conducted research and concluded that “Gay, lesbian, and bisexual young people were at increased risks of major depression...generalized anxiety disorder...conduct disorder...nicotine dependence...multiple disorders...suicidal ideation...suicide attempts.”[131]

Other researchers claim that the idea that this is the result of social pressures is unlikely because the study was replicated in The Netherlands with similar, more robust results.[132]

Researchers have concluded that lesbians have a much higher rate of substance abuse disorders during their lifetime as well as a higher prevalence of mood disorders.[133][134]

There are also higher rates of sexual molestation reported in the history of homosexuals. One study found that 46% of gay men and 22% of lesbians were sexually abused as children compared to 7% of heterosexual men and 1% of heterosexual women. The study also found that 68% of the men and 38% of the women did not self-identify as gay or lesbian until after the molestation.[135]

There are also significantly higher rates of domestic violence in homosexual relationships. Waldner-Haugrud, Gratch, and Magruder concluded from their sample of 283 participants that 47% of the lesbians and 29.7% of the gay men had been victimized by a gay partner.[136]

Gay activist Jonathan Rauch has argued that marriage is good for all men, whether homosexual or heterosexual, because engaging in its social roles reduces men's aggression and promiscuity.[137][138]

Other studies have shown that the civilizing effects of marriage that lead to lower crime rates among men, spending more time with relatives than friends, and working longer hours,[139]as well as being less promiscuous and less likely to abuse alcohol,[140][141]was not an artifact of selection[142]and is a result of gender complementarity.[143][144][145]

After reviewing current psychological and other social science studies on same-sex marriage in comparison to opposite-sex marriage, Gregory M. Herek claims that the data[146] indicate that same-sex and opposite-sex relationships do not differ in their essential psychosocial dimensions; that a parent's sexual orientation is unrelated to their ability to provide a healthy and nurturing family environment; and that marriage bestows substantial psychological, social, and health benefits. Herek concludes that same-sex couples and their children are likely to benefit in numerous ways from legal recognition of their families, and providing such recognition through marriage will bestow greater benefit than civil unions or domestic partnerships.[146]

Critics claim that many such studies claiming no difference in children raised by homosexual parents, compared to heterosexual parents, primarily compared children who were conceived in a heterosexual relationship whose mothers later divorced and self-identified as lesbians, and that these children were the ones compared to divorced, heterosexual, mother-headed families.[147]

Other research and review has been done that also claim these studies showing no difference suffered from methodological flaws, in addition to not dealing adequately with the problem of affirming the null hypothesis, of adequate sample size, and of spurious correlation.[148][149][150][151]

Yet other research has demonstrated that family structure matters for children, and the family structure that helps children the most is a family headed by two bilogical parents in a low-conflict marriage...and that there is value for children in promoting strong, stable marriages between biological parents[152], while other research has focused on how dual gender parenting and child-rearing is crucial to healthy child development.[153][154][155][156][157][158][159][160][161][162][163][164][165][166]

Studies have also been conducted on the importance of gender identification in children and found that parenting can derail biological priming.[167][168]

Physical health

In 2009, a pair of economists at Emory University tied the passage of state bans on same-sex marriage in the US to an increase in the rates of HIV infection.[169][170] The study linked the passage of same-sex marriage ban in a state to an increase in the annual HIV rate within that state of roughly 4 cases per 100,000 population.

See also

Documentaries and literature

Footnotes

  1. ^ Marriage: Both Civil and Religious, Pamela Taylor, The Washington Post, July 31, 2009.
  2. ^ Prop. 8 Challenged in Federal Court, American Foundation for Equal Rights, May 27, 2009.
  3. ^ Abraham, Julie (May). "Public Relations: Why the Rush to Same-Sex Marriage? And Who Stands to Benefit?". The Women's Review of Books. 17 (8): 12–14. its most vocal advocates want gay marriage because marriage stands at the center of a system of legitimazation [...]. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help)
  4. ^ Azzolina, David (2003). "The End of Gay (and the Death of Heterosexuality).(Book Review)". Library Journal: 288. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |coauthors= and |trans_title= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ Warner, Michael (1999). The Trouble with Normal. The Free Press. p. 80. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  6. ^ A Clash of Rights? Gay Marriage and the Free Exercise of Religion, The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, May 21, 2009; accessed September 11, 2009.
  7. ^ Church in Ukraine calls Elton John a Sinner In Adoption Inquiry, Joshua Cinelli, New York Daily News, September 16, 2009.
  8. ^ Sharpton chides black churches over homophobia, gay marriage, Southern Voice, Dyana Bagby, January 27, 2006.
  9. ^ Frank: Scalia's legal opinions reveal his homophobia, CNN, March 25, 2009. Retrieved September 9, 2009.
  10. ^ Homophobia damaging lives across Europe-EU study, Sylvia Westall, Reuters, March 31, 2009
  11. ^ Craig A. Rimmerman; Clyde Wilcox (2007). The politics of same-sex marriage. University of Chicago Press. p. 234. ISBN 9780226720012. Clearly homophobia is at the heart of blanket opposition to gay rights policies.
  12. ^ Evan Gerstmann (2004). Same-sex marriage and the Constitution. Cambridge University Press. p. 56. ISBN 9780521009522. Keeping marriage heterosexual and dual gendered clearly has more widespread support than other homophobic policies.
  13. ^ http://www.myetymology.com/english/marriage.html
  14. ^ Sing Ging Su, (1922) Chinese Family System, p. 54-55. ISBN 0554506351.
  15. ^ Anthropology Matters!, Shirley Fedorak, Broadview Press, 2007, Chapter 11, Page 174
  16. ^ a b The Nayars and the Definition of Marriage, Kathleen Gough, The Journals of Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, 1959.
  17. ^ This History of Human Marriage, Volume 1, Edvard Westermarck, Oxford University Press, Chapter 1, Page 26; 1922 edition.
  18. ^ Boy-wives and female husbands: studies of African homosexualities, Stephen O. Murray, Will Roscoe
  19. ^ Revisiting "Woman-Woman Marriage": Notes on Gikuyu Women, Wairimu Ngaruiya Njambi and William O'Brien, William E. NWSA Journal - Volume 12, Number 1, Spring 2000, pp. 1-23
  20. ^ Dictionaries take lead in redefining modern marriage, Washington Times, May 24, 2004.
  21. ^ Webster Makes It Official: Definition of Marriage Has Changed, Martha Neil, American Bar Association, March 23, 2009.
  22. ^ Dictionaries recognize same-sex marriage—who knew?, Daniel Redman, Slate, April 7, 2009; accessed 9/19/2009
  23. ^ "Equal Marriage for Same-Sex Couples". Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell.
  24. ^ http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/09/08/BAIHS19CJ.DTL&type=politics
  25. ^ Gallagher, Maggie. "Traditional Marriage Trifecta in the Making?." Human Events 64.36 (20 Oct. 2008): 17-17. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. 30 Sep. 2009
  26. ^ HARRY R. JACKSON JR. "One Man, One Woman -- Only". The Washington Post Company. Retrieved 2009-09-27.
  27. ^ Dershowitz, Alan M. (2003-12-03). "Government Should Quit the Marriage Business". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  28. ^ "Board of Advisors". Ruth Institute. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  29. ^ Morse, Jennifer Roback (2004-05-20). "Not a Social Contract". National Review. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  30. ^ Erik Wemple (2008-02-25). "Washington Times Scare Quotes Are History". Washington City Paper. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  31. ^ Kincaid, Cliff (2004-02-26). "Honest Versus Slanted Journalism". Accuracy In Media. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  32. ^ Austin Cline. "Washington Times Dismisses Gay "Marriages"". About.com. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  33. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=1ha9GgWNmy0C&pg=PT267
  34. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=mlFp0nFhvbwC&dq=Ritualized+Homosexuality+Herdt&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=MBbOSvmjIIOa8Aao5PT6Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#v=onepage&q=&f=false
  35. ^ Defu, Shen (1578-1642) Bizhouzhai Yutan
  36. ^ Hinsch, Bret (1990). Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China. Reed Business Information, Inc. ISBN 0520078691.
  37. ^ John Boswell, "Same Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe." (New York: Random House, 1995). Pages 80-85.
  38. ^ For example, the Roman Emperor Nero "married a man named Sporus in a very public ceremony... with all the solemnities of matrimony, and lived with him as his spouse" A friend gave the "bride" away "as required by law." q.v., Suetonius Nero 28; Dio Cassius Epitome 62.28 Old Translation of passage at: http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Cassius_Dio/62*.html
  39. ^ Cicero Philippic 2.18.45 See old translation at: http://old.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0021&layout=&loc=2.18.45
  40. ^ Martial 12.42, 1.35, 3.93, 12.95. Old Translations of passages at: http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/martial_epigrams_book12.htm http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/martial_epigrams_book01.htm http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/martial_epigrams_book03.htm
  41. ^ Juvenal Satire 2:132-135 http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Satire_2 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/juv-sat2eng.html
  42. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=xOmU5q1x8HsC&pg=PA272
  43. ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=5LXpN4oaOwAC&pg=PA123
  44. ^ "Same-sex marriage around the world". CBC News. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  45. ^ Legislative record of the same-sex marriage bill in Dutch and in French, by the Belgian Senate.
  46. ^ "Hindustan Times" (a news outlet in India) Article dated November 19, 2008
  47. ^ Canadians for Equal Marriage News Article dates December 7, 2006
  48. ^ "Nepal's highest court confirms full rights for LGBT people". Pink News. 2008-11-17. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  49. ^ Tears of Joy as Nepali Gays Transgender Persons at Supreme Court Decision
  50. ^ "Nepal Supreme Court orders full LGBT rights".
  51. ^ "Nepal SC approves same-sex marriage". Hindustan Times. 2008-11-19. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  52. ^ Nepal apex court okays same-sex marriage : iGovernment
  53. ^ a b IOL Diário - Sócrates quer casamento gay e referendo à regionalização
  54. ^ Casamentos na próxima legislatura
  55. ^ Espectador.com
  56. ^ News and Articles < Prime Minister´s Office
  57. ^ Slovenia to legalize same-sex marriage soon: minister
  58. ^ The Station Network
  59. ^ Aníbal Fernández supports parliamentary debate on same-sex marriages
  60. ^ Venezuela 'silent' on hate crimes rise
  61. ^ "Executive summary of "Report on the Family and the Rights of Children" prepared by the French National Assembly, Paris, January 25, 2006" (PDF). 2006-01-25. Retrieved 2008-10-24.
  62. ^ African gays and lesbians combat bias, Michael Fleshman, Africa Renewal, Vol.21 #1 (April 2007), page 12.
  63. ^ Tradition of same gender marriage in Igboland, Leo Igwe, Nigerian Tribune, June 19, 2009; accessed September 30, 2009.
  64. ^ "Jobs - Compensation & Benefits". The World Bank Group. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  65. ^ | Portland Press Herald | Baldacci signs same-sex marriage into law
  66. ^ HB 436-FN-LOCAL – VERSION ADOPTED BY BOTH BODIES
  67. ^ HRC: LGBT Laws of NJ
  68. ^ HRC: LGBT Laws of Maryland
  69. ^ US CODE: Title 1,7. Definition of “marriage” and “spouse”
  70. ^ "ElectionCenter2008". CNN. Retrieved October 03, 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  71. ^ "the WHITE HOUSE PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Civil Rights". Retrieved October 03, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  72. ^ Barack Obama on LBGT Rights
  73. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1598407/20081101/story.jhtml
  74. ^ NYC Protest and Civil Rights March Opposing Proposition 8, Andy Towle, Towelroad.com, November 13, 2008. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
  75. ^ Interview with Evan Wolfson, David Shankbone, Wikinews, September 30, 2007.
  76. ^ John R. Bohrer (2006-12-14). "NJ Civil Unions: Nothing to Celebrate". The Huffington Post.
  77. ^ Sweeping gay law reform finally passes
  78. ^ Limited govt equals freedom for same-sex couples
  79. ^ Honeymoon is over for gay weddings
  80. ^ (Fausto-Sterling et al., 2000)
  81. ^ "How common is intersex?". Intersex Society of North America. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
  82. ^ Bockting, Walter, Autumn Benner, and Eli Coleman. "Gay and Bisexual Identity Development Among Female-to-Male Transsexuals in North America: Emergence of a Transgender Sexuality." Archives of Sexual Behavior 38.5 (Oct. 2009): 688-701. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. 29 Sep. 2009
  83. ^ SCHWARTZ, JOHN. "U.S. Defends Marriage Law." New York Times (19 Sep. 2009): 12. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. 29 Sep. 2009
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  85. ^ "Why Marriage Matters" (PDF). National Organization for Marriage. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  86. ^ Banned in Boston
  87. ^ Blankenhorn, David (2008-09-19). "Protecting marriage to protect children". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  88. ^ See discussion of prenuptial and postmarital agreements at Findlaw
  89. ^ Professor Dale Carpenter is a prominent spokesman for this view. For a better understanding of this view, see Professor Carpenter's writings at http://www.indegayforum.org/staff/show/91.html.
  90. ^ Statement on Marriage and the Family from the American Anthropological Association
  91. ^ Case No. S147999 in the Supreme Court of the State of California, In re Marriage Cases Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding No. 4365, Application for leave to file brief amici curiae in support of the parties challenging the marriage exclusion, and brief amici curiae of the American Psychological Association, California Psychological Association, American Psychiatric Association, National Association of Social Workers, and National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter in support of the parties challenging the marriage exclusion
  92. ^ "Poll: Calif. gay marriage ban driven by religion." By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer. Thursday, December 4, 2008.
  93. ^ "Divisions persist over gay marriage ban" By Rajesh Mirchandani, BBC News, Los Angeles. Wednesday, 12 November 2008.
  94. ^ See e.g., Southern Baptist Convention, On Same-Sex Marriage (adopted 2003) http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/amResolution.asp?ID=1128 (visited January 20, 2008).
  95. ^ "The Religious Right and Anti-Gay Speech: Messengers of Love or Purveyors of Hate?". Matthew Shepard Online Resources. Archived from the original on 2002-12-19.
  96. ^ a b "The Christian Case Against Same-Sex Marriage" (PDF). Association of Politically Active Christians. January 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  97. ^ Gay Marriage Questions
  98. ^ "A Biblical Perpective on Same-Sex "Marriage" and Civil Unions" (PDF). Association of Politically Active Christians. January 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  99. ^ America's Rabbi | Once Again Democrats Bow to “Unions”
  100. ^ White, Mel. "What the Bible Says - And Doesn't Say - About Homosexuality". Soulforce. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  101. ^ "The "Clobber" Passages". gaychurch.org. Retrieved 2009-10-07.
  102. ^ "Resources". Metropolitan Community Church. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  103. ^ Davis, Richard. "Before you Begin Studying the "Clobber" Passages". Freedom In Christ. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  104. ^ "D025 - Anglican Communion: Commitment and Witness to Anglican Communion". Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  105. ^ "Would Jesus Discriminate?". Metropolitan Community Church. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  106. ^ "Equality Rights". United Church of Canada. 2007. Retrieved 2008-11-09.
  107. ^ Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, Orthodox Response to Same-Sex Marriage, NY Jewish Week (Mar. 26, 2004) http://www.ou.org/public_affairs/article/ou_resp_same_sex_marriage/ (visited January 20, 2008); Rabbinical Council of America, Joining with Three Other Orthodox Organizations, RCA Opposes Redefinition of Marriage in New York State (June 21, 2007) http://www.rabbis.org/news/index.cfm?type=policies (visited January 20, 2008)
  108. ^ Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, Homosexuality, Human Dignity, & Halakhah: A Combined Responsum for the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (approved by a majority of the Committee on Dec. 6, 2006) at http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/docs/Dorff_Nevins_Reisner_Final.pdf (visited January 20, 2008)
  109. ^ "Civil Marriage for Gay and Lesbian Jewish Couples". Union for Reform Judaism. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  110. ^ "FAQ's on Reconstructionist Approaches to Jewish ideas and Practices". Jewish Reconstructionist Federation. 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-17.
  111. ^ Bhikkhu, Mettanando (2005-07-13). "Will gay marriage be allowed by Buddhists in Thailand?". Buddhist Channel. Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2009-10-06.
  112. ^ Transcript of Larry King Live, interview with Dr. James Dobson, March 7, 2002.
  113. ^ "What Is a "Healthy Marriage"?". Child Trends. Retrieved October 4, 2009. And a growing body of research indicates that children thrive best when raised by both biological married parents, as long as the marriage is not high-conflict.
  114. ^ (How) Will Gay Marriage Weaken Marriage as a Social Institution
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  120. ^ Kinsella, S. "Libertarian View on Gay Marriage" in LewRockwell.com, June 6, 2006. [2]
  121. ^ Boaz, D., speech to Commonwealth Club of California
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  125. ^ The Impact of Extending Marriage to Same-Sex Couples on the California Budget
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Sources :

  • Boswell, John (1995). The Marriage of Likeness: Same-sex Unions in Pre-modern Europe. New York: Simon Harper and Collins. ISBN 0-00-255508-5.
  • Boswell, John (1994). Same-sex Unions in Premodern Europe. New York: Villard Books. ISBN 0-679-43228-0.
  • Emanuele Calò, Matrimonio à la carte - Matrimoni, convivenze registrate e divorzi dopo l'intervento comunitario, Milano, Giuffrè, 2009
  • Caramagno, Thomas C. (2002). Irreconcilable Differences? Intellectual Stalemate in the Gay Rights Debate. Westport, CT: Praeger. ISBN 0-275-97721-8.
  • Cere, Daniel (2004). Divorcing Marriage: Unveiling the Dangers in Canada's New Social Experiment. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. ISBN 0-7735-2895-4.
  • Chauncey, George (2004). Why Marriage?: The History Shaping Today's Debate over Gay Equality. New York: Basic Books. ISBN 0-465-00957-3.
  • Dobson, James C. (2004). Marriage Under Fire. Sisters, Or.: Multnomah. ISBN 1-59052-431-4. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |unused_data= (help); Text "Marriage under Fire: Why We Must Win This War" ignored (help)
  • Larocque, Sylvain (2006). Gay Marriage: The Story of a Canadian Social Revolution. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company. ISBN 1-55028-927-6.
  • Moats, David (2004). Civil Wars: A Battle For Gay Marriage. New York, NY: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN 0-15-101017-X.
  • Rauch, Jonathan (2004). Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company, LLC. ISBN 0-80507-815-0.
  • Spedale, Darren (2006). Gay Marriage: For Better or For Worse? What We've Learned From the Evidence. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-518751-2.
  • Truluck, Rembert S. (2000). Steps to Recovery from Bible Abuse. Gaithersburg, MD: Chi Rho Press, Inc. ISBN 1-888493-16-X.
  • Wolfson, Evan (2004). Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-6459-2.
  • Robert P. George, Jean Bethke Elshtain (Eds.), ed. (2006). The Meaning of Marriage: Family, State, Market, And Morals. Dallas: Spence Publishing Company. ISBN 1-890626-64-3.
  • Robert E. Goss, Amy Adams Squire Strongheart (Eds.), ed. (2008). Our Families, Our Values: Snapshots of Queer Kinship. New York, NY: The Harrington Park Press, An Imprint of the Haworth Press, Inc. ISBN 1-56023-910-7.
  • Douglas Laycock, Anthony Picarello, Jr., Robin Fretwell Wilson (Eds.), ed. (2008). Same-Sex Marriage and Religious Liberty: Emerging Conflicts. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-74256-326-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  • Andrew Sullivan (Editor), ed. (2004). Same-Sex Marriage: Pro and Con - A Reader, Revised Updated Edition. New York, NY: Vintage Books, a division of Random House, Inc. ISBN 1-40007-866-0. {{cite book}}: |editor= has generic name (help)
  • Oliver, Marilyn Tower (1998), Gay and lesbian rights: a struggle, Enslow Publishers, ISBN 9780894909580
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