Same Sex Marriage

Marriage, as defined by the civil law, is currently available to same-sex couples in five countries. The Netherlands was the first country to allow same-sex marriage in 2001. Same-sex marriages are also recognized in Belgium, Spain, Canada and South Africa.

Massachusetts was the first state in the United States to allow same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses.[15] This was the result of a 4 to 3 decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Goodridge v. Department of Health, which found that the state constitution required same-sex couples be granted marriage licenses under the "common benefits" clause,[16]. In Massachusetts, while there were initial efforts to limit the decision legislatively[17] or pass a state constitutional amendment reversing the decision,[18] ultimately marriage licenses began to be issued to same-sex couples. These couples enjoy all the benefits of Heterosexual couples under Massachusetts state law, including the right to inherit, sue for loss of consortium, and coverage under state insurance laws. These benefits do not, however, extend to matters controlled by federal law, such as the ability to file a joint income tax return or assert a claim as a dependent spouse under Social Security. This is due to the Defense of Marriage Act, passed by Congress in 1996, which Act states, "`In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word `marriage' means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word `spouse' refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.'[19]

On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples is unconstitutional. The ruling is not to take effect for 30 days, when county clerks could begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Citing a 1948 California Supreme Court decision that reversed a ban on interracial marriages, the Republican-dominated California Supreme Court, in a 4-3 ruling penned by Chief Justice Ronald George, struck down California's 1977 one-man, one-woman marriage law and a similar statute passed by initiative in 2000. The judgment is not final, for the ruling can be reconsidered upon filing of appeal or motion within 30 days, as Advocates for Faith and Freedom and the Alliance Defense Fund stated they would ask for a stay of the ruling. If the court denies the plea, same-sex couples could start getting married in 30 days. 2006 census figures indicate that California has an estimated 108,734 same-sex households.[20][not in citation given] Same-sex marriage opponents announced, however, that they have gathered 1 million signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to define marriage as between a man and woman, to effectively annul the decision.[21]

While Massachusetts is the only state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and CaliforniaвЂ"absent a stayвЂ"will soon join it, several other statesвЂ"including Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Vermont, Washington state, as well as Washington, D.C.вЂ"offer civil unions or domestic partnerships, which grant same-sex couples some or all of the same rights under state law granted to married couples. New Mexico, New York, and Rhode Island recognize foreign marriage licenses, but do not grant them or any other form of same-sex relationship recognition. Twenty-six states have amended their constitution to define marriage as the union of a man and a woman, with the language varying as to what legal rights, other than marriage, can be extended to same-sex couples.[22]

A New York appellate court