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The Netherlands offered full, legal marriage for same-sex couples in April 2001. This was followed by Belgium in January 2003. By June 2003, the Canadian province of Ontario, and as of July 2003, British Columbia offered legal marriage to same-sex couples. In 2004 the provinces of Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Québec, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland, Labrador, and the Yukon Territory joined the group. Also in 2004, Massachusetts became the only U.S. state that offers legal marriage for same-sex couples. In 2005, the Canadian province of New Brunswick also allowed legal marriage. It is likely that not many — if any — other nations will recognize the licenses. No other states or countries in the world yet allow same-sex couples the freedom to legally marry. No other state or country provides, under any other name, same-sex couples the same range of protections, responsibilities, and benefits that come with civil marriage. Here are some basic facts on the status of legal marriage for same-sex couples in the U.S.
No one uses the term “straight marriage.” In reality, we do not know the sexual orientation of married partners. The same is true for members of same-sex couples. The marriage discrimination faced by same-sex couples is discrimination based on their sex, not on their orientation. Lesbian or gay people can get legally married — as long as they marry an opposite-sex partner. The fight is for the same access to legal marriage as all other citizen have. To call it “gay marriage” suggests a different status.
Legal marriage is a state-defined contract currently available only to a man and a woman. Every state has a different set of laws — numbering from 160 to more than 250. The U.S. Federal system has more than 1,138 laws which are triggered by legal marriage. These laws interface with almost every sphere of social interaction. They treat a family as a legal unit, which is especially important during times of change, such as divorce, or during a family crisis, such as the right for a spouse to make medical decisions. Marriage laws allow for the understanding of the married couple as full adults in our culture.
State Laws Triggered by Legal Marriage – a SampleCouples married by a state government are automatically granted a broad range of rights at the federal level. These rights affect federal employees such as civil servants and the military.Assumption of Spouse’s Pension
Federal Laws Triggered by Legal Marriage – a SampleFor the purposes of nearly all of the above items, same-sex couples are considered legal strangers, and thereby unable to be covered by them.Access to Military Stores Although marriage contracts are governed by state law, the federal government uses marital status as the qualification for more than 1,138 federally regulated rights and responsibilities. [Please see our article: U.S. Laws for Married]
Ceremonial marriage may be officiated by church officials, or anyone you choose. Many churches marry same-sex couples. Church officials are vested to oversee signing of legal marriage documents, but they have no control over their legal content. Ceremonial marriages in and of themselves involve no civil laws and carry no legal benefits or responsibilities.
Common law marriage is only available in certain states and has never applied to same-sex couples. It allows for some marriage law to apply to opposite-sex couples who have lived together a certain length of time. [Please see our article: Common-Law Marriage States]
The few benefits offered with a domestic partnership registration are no substitute for the numerous rights and responsibilities of legal marriage. Registration is a means by which some cities allow opposite- and same-sex couples to go on public record as a non-married couple. These registrations usually offer little-to-no benefits, yet may possibly be used to establish legal responsibility for debts after a relationship ends. Their eventual effects are unknown because they have little court history. Cities usually charge $35-73 to register — about the same as, or more than, a legal marriage license. Many private employers and municipalities offer domestic partner benefits to their workers. These often depend on signing an affidavit — not a city registration — which frequently defines the economic relationship between the employee and the employee’s partner. These affidavits could be used in court against a partner after a relationship ended. Like registrations, their legal status is uncertain. [For more information about registration and workplace benefits, please see Partners’ Domestic Partner Benefits — Philosophy and Provider List.]
This is uncertain. Suits for legal marriage began in the U.S. in 1971. One of the best rulings came from the Vermont State Supreme Court in December 20, 1999. Their final ruling stated that same-sex couples must be afforded the same rights and benefits as opposite-sex couples, but required the Vermont Legislature to provide legal marriage or a “domestic partnership” law, rather than immediately require marriage licenses for same-sex couples. Rather than offer legal marriage — the same procedure to protect families as is offered to opposite-sex couples — the Vermont legislature decided to copy about 300 out of the State’s 870+ marriage laws and label the new law “Civil Union”. By designing a totally separate form of marriage, which could rightly be called “marriage light,” they created an apartheid. As the U.S. Supreme Court ruled regarding segregation, there is no such thing as separate and equal. [See Marrying Apartheid] Civil Unions — effective July 1, 2000 except for provisions relating to insurance and taxes that become effective in 2001 — do not have any legal weight in the Federal sphere, and it is highly unlikely that any other state will honor the new, almost-but-not-quite-marital license. The new status, however, does offer a vastly improved range of protections for same-sex couples never before available in the United States. Those couples who live in Vermont, once signed up as a civilly unionized couple, can say they are no longer “legal strangers” — they are finally “next-of-kin.” [See Civil Unions: The Vermont Approach] There is a marriage suit in New York, which lost the first two rounds. It may yet go several more rounds in court. While the Hawaiian court, in December 1996, found in favor of legal marriage, the final ruling, in December 1999, lost the case. There are no more appeals possible. A marriage case in Alaska won the first round, but the couple decided to not pursue legal marriage in light of a 1998 state ballot measure which limited marriage as a union between one man and one woman, and prohibited any legal recognition of same-sex marriage. The U.S. House and Senate and the President passed a bill (Defense of Marriage Act) in 1996, that prohibits recognizing a same-sex marriage for federal purposes (taxes, job benefits, immigration, etc.) and allows states to ignore a same-sex marriage from another state. [See “Defense of Marriage Act”.] Once legal marriage is available, suits will be mounted to challenge the DoMA law. The bill appears to be unconstitutional on several counts. However, bringing a case to the U.S. Supreme Court could take another five years. While various states and the federal system may attempt to block legal same-sex marriages, many businesses and cities may very well recognize a license from whichever state first provides one.
No. Even after legal marriage were to become available to same-sex couples, the Federal DoMA law, would deny your family legal status. DoMA would first need to be rescinded by congress or ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
Prejudice. Prejudice based in ignorance — often motivated by hatred toward gay and lesbian people — although they usually provide the following arguments, each seriously flawed:
Disintegration of MarriageThe social system would save over time as well, because same-sex couples would be legal responsible for each other’s welfare. Welfare or other governmental grants are harder to get if one has a legal spouse with an income. Rather than take crowded civil court time to resolve dissolution or custody disputes, same-sex couples could use the quicker and less expensive family courts. Families able to obtain job benefits for their partners can maintain a healthier household, which also costs society less in the long-term.
Validation These wild accusation all falsely presume enormous powers to sexual orientation, and that same-sex couples are not fully human, not full citizens and part of America.
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