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Same-sex Marriage , also called '''gay marriage''', is a Marriage between two persons of the same sex. The issue is a divisive Political Issue in the United States and elsewhere. The social movement to obtain the Rights And Responsibilities Of Marriages In The United States for same-sex couples began in the early 1970s , and the issue became a prominent one in U.S. politics in the 1990s . The legal issues surrounding same-sex marriage in the United States are complicated by the nation's Federal system of government. Traditionally, the federal government did not attempt to establish its own definition of marriage; any marriage recognized by a State was recognized by the federal government, even if that marriage was not recognized by one or more other states (as was the case with Interracial Marriage before 1967). With the passage of the Defense Of Marriage Act in 1996, however, a marriage was explicitly defined as a union of one man and one woman for the purposes of federal law. (See .) Thus, no act or agency of the U.S. federal government currently recognizes same-sex marriage. However, many aspects of marriage law affecting the day to day lives of inhabitants of the United States are determined by the states, not the federal government, and the Defense of Marriage Act does not prevent individual states from defining marriage as they see fit; indeed, most legal scholars believe that the federal government cannot impose a definition of marriage onto the laws of the various states by statute. Massachusetts has recognized same-sex marriage since 2004. Connecticut , Vermont , New Jersey , California , and New Hampshire (from 1 January 2008) have created legal unions that, while not called marriages, are explicitly defined as offering all the rights and responsibilities of marriage under state law to same-sex couples. Maine , Hawaii , the District Of Columbia , Oregon (from 1 January 2008) and Washington have created legal unions for same-sex couples that offer varying subsets of the rights and responsibilities of marriage under the laws of those jurisdictions. In contrast, twenty-six states have constitutional amendments explicitly barring the recognition of same-sex marriage, confining civil marriage to a legal union between a Man and a Woman . Forty-three states have statutes restricting marriage to two persons of the opposite sex, including some of those that have created legal recognition for same-sex unions under a name other than "marriage." A small number of states ban any legal recognition of same-sex unions that would be equivalent to civil marriage. Opponents of same-sex marriage have attempted to prevent individual states from recognizing such unions by amending the , June 7 , 2006, (Accessed July 5 , 2006) On August 30, 2007, Iowa Judge Robert Hanson temporarily annulled a Law allowing Marriage only between men and women before placing a Stay the following day on his own ruling. Only Massachusetts allows same-sex marriages while 9 others - including New Jersey , New Hampshire , Connecticut and Vermont - offer Civil unions which grant same-sex couples the same Legal rights as opposite couples. Same-sex couples are banned from marrying in 49 of the 50 US states.[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6971696.stm BBC NEWS, Iowa judge approves gay weddings] DEBATE Conservative publications A writer of '' The Weekly Standard ''(who is gay), Stanley Kurtz, adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute, blames same-sex marriage in the Netherlands for an increase in parental cohabitation contracts. He asserts that same-sex marriage has detached Procreation from marriage in the Dutch mind and would likely do the same in the United States . Using Anecdotal evidence, such as a Dutch man and two women who entered a cohabitation agreement together, and a small Unitarian Church group that advocates polygamy, Kurtz states that allowing a monogamous same-sex marriage will create a social disorder that will eventually lead to Polygamy . Liberal publications Christopher Ott, a reporter for '' The Progressive '', has characterized the social conservatives' predictions of legalized polygamy in states such as Massachusetts that have same-sex marriage as false. He confronts the common argument that same-sex marriage would devalue Marriage as a whole by referencing other historical events such as Allowing Women To Vote and stating that it did not devalue the electoral process. Ott describes the prohibition of same-sex marriage as devaluing the American principle of Equal Treatment . Groups supporting and opposing same-sex marriage See Also: Blessing of same-sex unions in Christian churches It is supported by an assortment of groups and individuals. Those supporting same-sex marriage include ,1 the American Psychiatric Association , the American Psychological Association , Freedom To Marry , the Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation , the Human Rights Campaign , Coretta Scott King {Link without Title} , Lambda Legal , , the Metropolitan Community Church , National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Gay And Lesbian Task Force , , the Unitarian Universalist Association ,"Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Community", {Link without Title} (accessed July 2007) the United Church Of Christ , {Link without Title} , and United Farm Workers . Additionally, the mayors In 2006 of several large cities such as Atlanta , Boston , Chicago , Los Angeles , New York City , Salt Lake City , San Francisco , and Seattle support same-sex marriage. Several political parties such as the Communist Party USA ,2 U.S. Green Party , the Socialist Party USA,3 and several state Democratic Parties also support gay marriage. Those supporting the creation of a separate but equal legal status for same-sex couples in the form of civil union or domestic partnership legislation include some state governors such as those of California , Connecticut , New Mexico , Oregon , and Washington , the national Democratic Party ,4 and President George W. Bush .5 Groups that oppose giving a legal status to same-sex marriages include the American Family Association , the Christian Coalition , the Christian Voice , the Church of God (Anderson, IN),6 The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-day Saints , the Conservative Mennonite Conference 7 the Evangelical Methodist Church,8 Family Research Council , Focus On The Family , the Hutterite Brethren,9, the Moral Majority , NARTH , the Orthodox Church In America ,10 the , 2006) the national and most state Republican Parties , the Roman Catholic Church , the Southern Baptist Convention 11 the Seventh-day Adventist Church ,12 Southern Baptist Convention ,http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/06/15/national1654EDT0681.DTL Unification Church , and the Union Of Orthodox Jewish Congregations Of America (OU). POPULAR OPINION :''See Same-sex Marriage In The United States Public Opinion LEGAL ISSUES State level Impact of foreign laws The legalization of same-sex marriages across all of Canada (see Same-sex Marriage In Canada ) has raised questions about U.S. law, due to Canada's proximity to the U.S. and the fact that Canada has no citizenship or residency requirement to receive a marriage certificate (unlike the Netherlands and Belgium ). Canada and the U.S. have a history of respecting marriages contracted in either country. Immediately after the June 2003 ruling legalizing Same-sex Marriage In Ontario , a number of American couples headed or planned to head to the province in order to get married. A coalition of American national Gay Rights groups issued a statement asking couples to contact them before attempting legal challenges, so that they might be coordinated as part of the same-sex marriage movement in the United States. At present, same-sex marriages are recognized nationwide in the Netherlands , Belgium , Spain , Canada and South Africa . Same-sex marriage conducted abroad is recognized in Israel , Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles . CASE LAW United States case law regarding the rights of gay or bisexual persons:
REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY SEE ALSO In General
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