same-sex marriage

Examples of same-sex marriage in the following topics:

• The Movement for Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights

  • An issue that has been central to the LGBT rights movement since the late 1980s is same-sex marriage.
  • In response to same sex couples' attempts to gain state marriage licenses, the U.S.
  • Nonetheless, by the early 2000s, many states began to consider legalizing same-sex marriage.
  • Civil unions provide the legal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples, but not the title of marriage.
  • Challenges to bans on same-sex marriage contend that laws prohibiting same-sex marriage are discriminatory.

• The Nature of Marriage

  • In the United States, although same-sex marriages are not recognized federally, same-sex couples can legally marry in six states (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont) and the District of Columbia and receive state-level benefits.
  • Currently, the legal concept of marriage is expanding to include same-sex marriage in some areas as well.
  • Same-sex is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or gender identity.
  • Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality.
  • In the United States, although same-sex marriages are not recognized federally, same-sex couples can legally marry in six states (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont) and the District of Columbia and receive state-level benefits.

• Marriage Equality and the Courts

  • During Barack Obama’s second term in office, courts began to counter efforts by conservatives to outlaw same-sex marriage.
  • The Internal Revenue Service found that the exemption did not apply to same-sex marriages, denied Windsor's claim, and compelled her to pay $363,053 in estate taxes.
  • Obergefell requires all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and to recognize same-sex marriages validly performed in other jurisdictions; this legalized same-sex marriage throughout the United States and its possessions and territories.
  • Prior to Obergefell, 36 states, the District of Columbia, and Guam already issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
  • The White House was illuminated in rainbow colors on the evening of the Supreme Court same-sex marriage ruling.

• Homophobia

  • Additionally, if Ugandan citizens were found to be engaging in same-sex sexual or romantic activities outside the country, Uganda would request extradition.
  • Most evidently, same-sex couples are not allowed to wed in most states.
  • According to this act, the federal government cannot recognize gay marriages, and a state that does not recognize gay marriage does not have to accept the marriage license given to a same-sex couple in a different state that does recognize same-sex marriages.
  • As part of this debate about the legality and morality of gay marriage, 41 states have explicitly banned same-sex marriages, 12 by statute and 29 through amendments to the state constitutions.
  • Laws regarding same-sex marriage vary by state in the U.S.

• Marriage and Responsibility

  • Some countries and American states recognize same-sex marriage, but gaining recognition for these unions is a legal battle occurring around the world .
  • The ceremony in which a marriage is enacted and announced to the community is called a wedding.
  • One well-known attribute of marriage is that it tends to have health benefits.
  • However, unhappily married couples may not receive the same health benefits and may actually be less healthy than their single peers.
  • Assess the importance of the institution of marriage, as well as the various reasons why people enter into a marriage

• New Developments in Families

  • a desire to live as married when same-sex marriages and / or polyamory are not legal
  • Given how recent same-sex marriage is in the U.S., there is very little existing data on marital dissolution rates.
  • There is, however, data on marital dissolution rates (i.e., divorce) in other countries where same-sex marriage has been legally allowed for a longer period of time.
  • Andersson et al. examined precisely this issue in Norway and Sweden, where same-sex marriages or civil unions have been legally recognized since the mid-1990s.
  • female same-sex couples are more likely to divorce than are male same-sex couples

• The Decline of the Traditional Family

  • One parent households, cohabitation, same sex families, and voluntary childless couples are increasingly common.
  • As of 2009, only two states in the United States recognized marriages between same-sex partners, Massachusetts and Iowa, where same-sex marriage was formally allowed as of May 17, 2004 and April 2009, respectively.
  • Three additional states allow same-sex civil unions, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Vermont.
  • Between May 2004 and December 2006, 7,341 same-sex couples married in Massachusetts.
  • Summarize the prevalence of single parents, cohabitation, same-sex couples, and unmarried individuals

• Divorce and Its Legal Ramifications

  • For same-sex couples, divorce law is in its infancy and is less than clear on how such unions may be legally dissolved.
  • For example, if a same-sex couple is married in a state that recognizes gay marriage but returns to reside in a state that does not, they might find themselves in a situation where their own state, in failing to recognize their union will also fail to enable them to divorce.
  • Although marriage was previously defined as a legal union between one man and one woman in the United States, over the past decades several states have begun to consider adopting, or have adopted, legislation which legalizes same-sex marriage.
  • For same-sex couples, divorce law is in its infancy and is less than clear on how such unions may be legally dissolved.
  • For example, if a same-sex couple is married in a state that recognizes gay marriage but returns to reside in a state that does not, they might find themselves in a situation where their own state, in failing to recognize their union, will also fail to enable them to divorce.

• Families and Inequality

  • An example of such restrictions would be a requirement to marry someone from the same tribe.
  • Examples include widows who stand to lose a pension if they remarry and so undergo a marriage only in the eyes of God and the community; lesbian, gay and bisexual couples with same-sex partners (where same-sex marriage is not legally recognized); some sects which recognize polygamy (see, Mormon fundamentalism), retired couples who would lose pension benefits if legally married, Muslim men who wish to engage in polygamy that is condoned in some situations under Islam, polyamorous couples and groups that seek ceremonial celebration of commitment (where polyamory is not legally recognized), and immigrants who do not wish to alert the immigration authorities that they are married either to a spouse they are leaving behind or because the complexity of immigration laws may make it difficult for spouses to visit on a tourist visa.
  • They teach that unmarried people should not have sex, which they refer to as fornication.
  • Sex with a married person other than one's spouse(s), called adultery, is generally condemned by most religions and has even been criminalized in some countries.
  • About 10-15% of women and 20-25% of men in the U.S. engage in extramarital sex.

• Marital Residence

  • Marriage is an institution which can join together people's lives in a variety of emotional and economic ways.
  • In many Western cultures, marriage usually leads to the married couple living together in the same home, often sharing the same bed.
  • Conversely, marriage is not a prerequisite for cohabitation.
  • Conflicting studies on the effect of cohabitation on marriage have been published.
  • In California, such couples are defined as people who "have chosen to share one another's lives in an intimate and committed relationship of mutual caring," including having a "common residence, and are the same sex or persons of opposite sex if one or both of the persons are over the age of 62. "