Same-Sex Marriage and Civil Unions
Laws and legal information about same-sex marriage and same-sex civil unions
Why Prop 8 Is More Complicated Than It Looks
On June 16, 2008, Supreme Court of delighted same-sex marriage supporters across the nation by declaring that the California Constitution guaranteed the right of all individuals to marry, regardless of their sexual orientation. In the same case, entitled In Re: The Marriage of Cases, the Court invalidated section 308.5. of the California Family Code, which stated, "only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California," in its entirety. Over the course of the next several months, thousands of same-sex couples married in California, including celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and George Takei. Not willing to accept the Court's ruling lying down, opponents of same-sex marriage resurrected section 308.5, this time in the form of a ballot initiative to amend the California Constitution that used the exact same language as that section, now entitled Proposition 8. On November 4, 2009, the measure passed by a margin of 52 to 48…
Same-Sex Marriage and Same-Sex Unions
Various types of formal same-sex unions have long been customary in certain cultures. Whether governments should provide legal recognition to such relationships has become a contentious issue in some countries, mostly in the West, since the 1990s. The points of contention are mainly:Should some form of legal recognition be accorded same-sex relationships?If so, what rights and responsibilities should be assigned to them?Should the legal concept of "marriage" be extended to same-sex couples?Should governments recognize same-sex unions lawfully entered into in another jurisdiction? Read more