Same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage (also called gay marriage)Note that the term "gay marriage" is technically less accurate, because the participants in a same-sex marriage are not necessarily gay: one or both could be bisexual, pansexual etc. is the union of two individuals of the same sex in a marital relationship, with the full legal rights and responsibilities allotted to this contract in a given jurisdiction. Legally defined marriage of homosexual couples is limited to almost 40 countries as of 2023; some other places have "civil unions", which includes many of the all-important legal trappings, without the title "marriage" and the religious overtones some think are implied by the word.
Supporters of same-sex marriage may refer to it as "marriage equality," (e.g., the Marriage Equality Act of New York State),Marriage Equality Act Governor's Office of New York (archived from June 15, 2011). while opponents may call it "redefining marriage," or may use scare quotes (i.e., same-sex "marriage").Editorial: Kennedy vs. Catholicism (November 25, 2009) The Washington Times.
As of August 2024, the institution of traditional marriage has been updated in thirty-nine countries.Namely Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the UK (performed in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, as well as the Crown Dependencies of Isle of Man, Gibraltar and the Channel Islands), the United States, and Uruguay. Marriage has been shifting from a religiously-dictated ritual to a social construct that is no longer related to the personal beliefs, or to any ritualism specific to organized religion.
Same-sex marriage is sometimes conflated with the civil union of two same-sex individuals. For that reason, this article will cover both.
There are several religious groups that endorse or perform gay marriages, including Episcopalians, Presbyterians,Ford, Dana. Presbyterians vote to allow same-sex marriage. CNN, June 19, 2014. Quakers, Unitarian Universalists, Eckists, Raëlians, Druids, Native American faiths with two-spirit traditions, certain Reform Jewish rabbis,Rabbi Powers, Amber. Same-Sex Marriage. My Jewish Learning. Wiccans, and the Satanic Temple.
==Same-sex marriages in history==
The earliest European civilisation known to have a concept of officially-recognised same-sex relationships were the Ancient Greeks, who used a form of civil partnership to unite older men and boys.Ancient Greek Lessons About Gay Marriage, Emily Wilson, Slate 22 September 2019 The Romans were legally opposed to same-sex marriages, but the Emperor had the power to allow such marriages. Nero himself married a man by the name of Pythagoras (not Pythagoras), where the only thing truly "scandalous" about it was that he took the role of the bride rather than the groom.Annals, Tacitus
In Christian society, same-sex marriages were treated to varying degrees in its first millennium, depending on whether the local church felt that love was a better reason to marry than just sex. The existence of "Josephite marriages" is another example of this dispute, where soulmates are officially married but also committed to celibacy. By the 4th century, the now-Christianised Roman Empire quickly outlawed and condemned same-sex marriages under Emperor Constantine II. This did not rule out marriage for later Christian states, however, as the allowed at least one church wedding in 1061.Callón, Carlos. Callón gaña o Vicente Risco de Ciencias Sociais cun ensaio sobre a homosexualidade na Idade Media (in Galician). Archived from the original at galiciae.com. After a thousand years of squabbling, the Catholic Church finally banned same-sex marriages outright in the 1400s, replacing it with a civil partnership known as "brother-making", which may have entailed homosexuality in individual cases, however evidence is highly questionable. However, if a marriage was made the Church was committed to acknowledging its existence, as seen in the case of Marcela Gracia Ibeas and Elisa Sánchez Loriga in 20th century Spain, though they were excommunicated for the act."Elisa Sánchez Loriga". Archived from the original at unless-women.eu.
==Arguments for same-sex marriage==
===Equality===
The argument for equality is the most compelling and obvious for allowing same-sex marriage. Most laws in the Western world are designed to be inclusive and protective of all, so it makes little sense to deny a group of people the legal protection and support that a marriage provides.
Some, however, object to equality as an argument for same-sex marriage. They believe that if homosexuality deserves equal protection, then logically, deviant practices such as incest or bestiality must be allowed the same equal protection. Their belief is that if two adults love each other, that is insufficient grounds to allow marriage — siblings who love each other cannot marry, for example, and an adult who loves a child or their golden retriever cannot marry them. Incest (in the meaning of sexual encounter between 2 closely-related beings capable of producing a child), however, differs from same-sex marriage in that there is a higher than usual risk that a child born to the closely-related couple could suffer genetic defects.Genetics, Ecology, and the Origins of Incest and Exogamy by Frank B. Livingstone (1969) Current Anthropology 10(1):45-61. Bestiality and adult-child marriages are also a violation of informed consent, which is the biggest flaw of that argument. Another basic idea is that when many women got the right to vote a few decades ago, it didn't follow up with dogs getting that right, nor the right to drive cars. Why? Because dogs are not sapient beings with civil rights akin to those of human beings.
In these contexts, the only difference between a gay marriage and most heterosexual marriage is that, well, "a baby can't form", at least not without surrogacy.
===Basic human rights===
A human right, by definition, extends to all humans. Freely choosing one's own spouse, regardless of gender or status, is a fundamental human right. However, social conservatives believe that claims to human rights may be mitigated by moral barriers. They argue that just as humans cannot choose to marry children or siblings, they likewise should not be able to marry someone of the same gender, and rinse/repeat etc.
===Happiness===	 
 
Being married to the partner of your preferred gender allows participants a much happier domestic life, and better sex. Or at least, sex with a gender you're not desperately unattracted to.
This also comes in the form of mental health benefits for gay people, as has been shown by a number of studies. Legalizing same-sex marriage is correlated with reductions in mental healthcare visits and associated costs for both gay men and bisexual men. Same-sex couples also saw their risk of suicide decline after same-sex marriage was made legal.Another reason to celebrate the legalisation of gay marriage in Sweden and Denmark: the drop in suicide rates (November 19, 2019) Even for LGBT youth, who aren't old enough to get married, there are still benefits. In the United States, the legalization of gay marriage was associated with lower suicide attempt rates among LGBT youth, as legalizing gay marriage helps destigmatize LGBT people at large including those who are too young for marriage.Difference-in-Differences Analysis of the Association Between State Same-Sex Marriage Policies and Adolescent Suicide Attempts by Julia Raifman et al. (2017) JAMA Pediatr. 2017;171(4):350-356. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.4529
===Same benefits as opposite-sex marriage===
The benefits that people ascribe to opposite-sex marriage — greater commitment, a better place to raise children, a more fulfilling and satisfactory existence etc. — ought to be available for same-sex partners who want to get married. There is no evidence, outside the opinions of certain pundits and propaganda from the right-wing, that a marriage between two women or two men is less beneficial to society than a heterosexual one. This argument has been used by UK Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader David Cameron, who has said that "Conservatives believe in the ties that bind us; that society is stronger when we make vows to each other and support each other. So I don’t support gay marriage despite being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I’m a Conservative."David Cameron's Conservative party conference speech in full (5 Oct 2011 12.22 EDT) The Guardian. This had brought criticism from leading British figures in the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church.Catholic cardinal criticises gay marriages plan (March 4, 2012) BBC.
===Lower divorce rate===
Interestingly, same-sex marriages are significantly less likely to end in divorce than heterosexual marriages.How Many Gay Marriages End In Divorce? (February 10th, 2021) Pride Legal.Think Tank Reveals Gay Divorce Statistics & Same Sex Marriage Facts Law Offices of Molly B. Kenny. Even more interestingly, gay people tend not to belong to a denomination or faith that abhors divorce in the first place, for reasons that should be obvious. There are several possibilities as to why the divorce rate is lower. For instance, without the risk of accidental pregnancy, there are no shotgun weddings. Furthermore, a society with people allowed to be openly gay are less likely to have closeted people end up in sham marriages, which would slightly lower the rate of divorce for opposite-sex marriages as well.
==Arguments against same-sex marriage==
To characterize arguments against gay marriage, most suggest that allowing persons of the same sex to marry will somehow destroy the family, destroy marriage, or destroy both at once. Multiple courts have already found such argumentation to be ridiculous,California Prop 8 Ruling (August 2010) Scribd. and of course, this didn't happen in any country that legalized gay marriage thus far.
A real problem with arguing for same-sex marriage is that allowing same-sex marriage is much more contentious than allowing same-sex civil unions with all the same rights as marriages. Because the word "marriage" is considered inherently better than the word "civil union," allowing for same-sex civil unions would still let opponents of gay marriage hold what they consider to be a position of superiority over homosexuals, due to the implication that the government holds heterosexuals in higher regard than homosexuals. The Religious Right often attempted to argue against gay marriage by conflating gay marriage with civil unions, and deliberately trying to whitewash over the possibility of civil unions as an intermediate step between no-rights and marriage. Since the Religious Right had a lot to gain from this deliberate mischaracterization, it did not cease until full marriage equality was achieved.
However, it is critically important to remember that, when talking about the right to same-sex marriages, few people are talking about forcing churches to marry homosexual couples. In the US, this would be unconstitutional.Remember the First Amendment? After all, churches will — and should — do what they want, and some churches do marry gay couples.
In the debate on same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom, the idea that churches would be forced (possibly — gasp! — by the European Union) to marry gay couples against their will had been brought up by opponents of same-sex marriage… but nobody ever seemed to see that the same argument applies to divorcees or inter-faith marriages. And no evil Eurocrats or activist judges have been keen on forcing Catholic churches to perform marriages for divorcees.
What most people are talking about are the legal benefits that flow from marriage — inheritance, veterans benefits, hospital visitations, etc.
===Slippery slope arguments===
The slippery slope fallacy as applied needs no serious answer because it presumes that gay marriage and (insert horrible thing here) can only be wrong for the same reason, such as "the Bible says so" or "it's just unnatural" or something else. If it's not necessarily the same reason, then each practice can be considered and rejected/accepted on its own terms. But if it always is then no one would have different opinions on both things, yet plenty of people do (from gay rights activists who oppose polygamy, to religious fundamentalist polygamists who oppose homosexuality).
A common argument against gay marriage is that it is the thin end of the (gay) wedge that will lead society down a slippery slope to complete collapse. The argument holds that the "gay lobby" only wants gay marriage to be a starting point. Next will be gay adoption, IVF and surrogacy (all of which exist in Australia already). After that will come the lowering of the age of consent and polygamy/polyandry. After that, siblings will be allowed to marry. Once this agenda has been realised, the stage will be set for the legalisation of bestiality and "inter-species marriage". The final step will be "inanimate object marriage." Once all of this is done, so the argument goes, naturally every single heterosexual person will have either turned gay or married an animal or object with which it cannot reproduce, and society will be forever destroyed.
This argument overlooks several factors, including that: in none of the places where gay marriage is already legal has this occurred; gay marriage activists tend to either stop lobbying or focus their efforts on other LGBTQ+ issues like anti-discrimination laws once they have gay marriage rather than moving on to inter-species marriage; and that most heterosexuals are in fact heterosexuals and are not simply biding their time until they can legally marry a person of the same sex/donkey/computer keyboard.
To put it another way, users of the slippery-slope argument are saying that one's views on gay rights have to be held hostage to one's issues with polygamy or incest, or else one is guilty of hypocrisy. This is fallacious regardless of whether or not polygamy and incest are objectively wrong. Even if hypocrisy is a consequence of accepting gay rights and rejecting the parade of prophesied horribles, it doesn't follow that avoiding personal hypocrisy is more important than expanding civil rights. After all, if hypocrisy is to be avoided, we shouldn't see so many advocates of a limited government that stays out of people's private affairs advocating for the government to decide who may and may not get married.
The argument further misses the fact that bestiality was a legal practice in many countries until the 21st century, when several countries started to make it punishable by law, which was also around the same time that same-sex marriage became allowed in many countries. While correlation is not causation — and the penalizing of bestiality is due to demands from animal rights activists more than anything else — it is more than enough reason to assume that that slippery slope doesn't work, as one doesn't see those same animal rights activists organizing protests in favor of abolishing same-sex marriage.
====Slouching toward NAMBLA====
Just look at all those other countries that legalised gay marriage, they were marrying pedos to kids within a matter of… well… that actually hasn't happened anywhere at all, but it's a matter of time!Texas GOP Warns Gay Marriage Could Lead to Incest, Pedophilia by Emma Margolin (August 7, 2014) MSNBC.
This ignores the fact that homosexual love was accepted for decades before gay marriage was legalised, while pedophile love is still considered totally unacceptable by almost everyone; hence a major change in attitude would be needed for marrying 8 year olds to be considered. Also, there has been a movement against marriage of young people in the west, while in many traditional Christian, Muslim, and Hindu nations, marriage below 18 or even 16 is common.Marriage Laws around the World (September 8, 2016) Pew Research Center. In the USA, liberal Delaware and New Jersey have the strictest restrictions on marriage below 18, while according to UNICEF, the conservative, religious state of Missouri is "a destination wedding spot for 15-year-old child brides".What You Need To Know About Child Marriage In The U.S. by Sarah Ferguson (Oct 29, 2018,04:35pm EDT) Forbes.
In any event, those who argue a slippery slope from same-sex marriage to pedophilia are openly admitting that they don't find the distinction of "consenting adults" meaningful, which is in itself pretty disturbing.
====Polygamy====
This is probably the most reasonable argument for the anti-gay marriage side — if there is a fundamental right to marry whomever you choose, why can't married people get married to more people? However, it makes several fundamentally problematic assumptions, namely:
#Legalizing polygamy is necessarily a bad thing.
#Polygamy won't be legalized anyway.
#Polygamy won't remain illegal because it causes harm.
#The same slippery slope argument applies to interracial marriage.
The best argument against this is the fact that polygamy is much more complicated than a marriage of two consenting adults, especially in a legal sense; in fact, there are multiple possible ways to have a plural marriage, each with its own possible benefits and detriments to the individuals and society, whereas there's only one way to allow two consenting adults of the same sex to marry each other in the modern world. The fact that it's complicated doesn't mean that it's bad, but it does mean there needs to be more debate to nail down exactly what kind of polygamous marriages society is going to endorse, if any.
Another argument against this is that polygamy, or at least polygyny, was legal in ancient times. Ergo, allowing same sex marriage would move us further away from polygamy, not closer.
====Counter-argument: Comparison with interracial marriage====
Many people used to (and some still do) feel that interracial marriage was wrong and that a black guy kissing a white lady, or vice versa, was creepy and uncomfortable. Simply being uncomfortable with something is not a reason to ban it. Two people speaking Spanish between themselves in front of you on the bus may make you uncomfortable, but is it really a good idea to say that speaking Spanish (in, say, a predominantly English speaking country) should be illegal?It doesn't help that there are people who would answer "yes" to that.
As laws are supposed to be founded on objective proof and logical discourse, one person's squeamish reaction to two people of the same sex, different races, or different social classes getting close should not and cannot be used as a legal argument against them marrying.
====Counter-argument: Backwards slope====
The fun thing with slippery slope arguments is that they slip both ways. By the same logic, if we were to repeal gay marriage where it's legal based on the notion that "marriage is for having children only", we could ban marriages involving people unable to reproduce (e.g., the elderly or infertile people), and eventually ban marriage altogether.
===Hurts marriage===
====Hurts traditional marriage roles====
This is actually true, though it's mostly phrased this way by supporters considering it as an advantage, not by opponents.Same-Sex Marriage Does Threaten “Traditional” Marriage by Tiffany K. Wayne (April 2, 2013) Nursing Clio. The "traditional" roles in question being roles that social changes advocated against in the last hundred years. Gay marriage makes stereotypical traditional marriage roles look as silly as they are. Marriage equality is a threat to those who do not believe in equality between the sexes in general.
Of course, the marriages that enforced traditional gender roles were the marriages which existed under when a woman was legally subsumed into her husband for most practical purposes once she was married, such that her public life effectively ended and she was confined to the private sphere and had to rely on her husband to handle most things outside of the home. That is long dead in most of the world, and died decades before same-sex marriage was even much discussed in the Western world.
====Changes goal from procreation====
Similarly, some argue that the state recognizes marriage in order to promote procreation, which ensures the state's continued existence. The argument goes that since procreation is generally the result of sexual union between a man and a woman, recognizing same-sex marriage doesn't make any sense. However, they fail to note the generally. Same-sex couples can also procreate (rather than adopt) through IVF or surrogacy, albeit with some more red tape and planning to go through. Scientists are also working on ways to make sperm from eggs, make eggs from stem cells, and grow babies in artificial womb, so in the future, there may not even be the need for a donor.
This also ignores the fact that procreation is not a requirement for heterosexual marriage. Child benefit is just one of many legal and tax benefits given to married couples, such as spousal Social Security benefits, Medicare and other medical benefits, estate planning benefits, disability benefits, employment benefits, death benefits, family benefits such as right to property, housing benefits, consumer benefits such as tuition and insurance discounts, allowing filings of wrongful death suits, marital communication privileges, visiting rights, and more, alongside simply giving them the opportunity to register their commitment to one another and have it acknowledged by the state. None of these are taken away if a couple fails to produce children on a regular basis, as they are there to provide stability to a committed couple, regardless of how many crying screaming sods bundles of joy they wish to have.
Also, if "marriage is for procreation", then by that logic we shouldn't be giving marriage licenses to people who have had vasectomies/tied tubes, people who are naturally sterile, or even the guy that got hit too hard in the soccer balls with a soccer ball.
The procreation argument alone should be insulting for those involved in an honest relationship. To define marriage as simply a vehicle for procreation undermines the deeper relationships and meaning of marriage. So much for "defense of marriage". If anything, the argument is insulting to children, as it determines their worth in numbers, rather than how they are cared for. Better to raise one child or none in a stable working household than bring three into one that cannot support them. And in case you didn't realise, we have a global problem going on.
While some states had implemented same-sex marriage bans using procreation as the reasoning, courts within a day of each other in 2013 ruled that the bans in New Mexico and Utah were violations of the equal protection and due process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment. Both judges ruled that procreation was not a valid argument because heterosexual couples who were elderly (e.g. post-menopausal), infertile or otherwise making a conscious decision not to have children were not subject to the same ban that same sex couples were. Judge Terence Kern noted in his decision for the US District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma that "civil marriage… does not have any procreative prerequisites", and concluded that "permitting same-sex couples to receive a marriage license does not harm, erode, or somehow water-down the 'procreative' origins of the marriage institution."Mary Bishop et al. v. United States of America United States District Cour for the Northern District of Oklahoma.
====Lesbian sperm thieves====
David Usher of RenewAmerica warns that women will, given the slightest opportunity, all marry each other, thus taking all the legal privilege from men, and use the men only as a source of sperm.Our last chance to save traditional marriage by David R. Usher (August 21, 2013) RenewAmerica. But then again, he is batshit insane.
====It is a "counterfeit" that devalues the "real thing"====
This video compares gay marriage to counterfeit money, calling your van a "Porsche", or making your college degree look like a Cambridge diploma.R-74 Same Sex Marriage - Counterfeit or Natural? by Save True Marriage (October 29, 2012) YouTube. It pretends that same-sex marriage somehow devalues "real" marriage since the big man in the sky has the patent on it. Science fiction author Robert J. Sawyer has an excellent rebuttal to this argument on his blog by contrasting the debasement of a title (professor) by awarding it to persons "who (a) hadn’t obtained the highest academic degree in their discipline and (b) had done no original research he felt debased the term" with gay marriage which "doesn’t cheapen, diminish, or reduce anyone’s marriage" and "takes nothing away from anyone else."A parable on the day SCOTUS recognized gay marriage by Robert J. Sawyer (June 26th, 2015) Science Fiction Writer.
====No marriage at all====
A rare argument, typically seen among libertarians, is that not only should the state not sanction same-sex marriage, but that it should get out of the marriage business altogether. As a private arrangement between consenting adults, they argue, there is no reason for state intervention.
However, this doesn't really solve the inequality problem. (Advocates of the no-marriage solution rarely seem to spend their time evangelising this view to married heterosexuals). This also don't address the issue of the rights, privileges, and benefits associated with marriage. As these include matters where the state has a compelling interest, such as property rights that can frequently end up in dispute, the state has no choice but to get involved in some way so as to maintain order.
Another Libertarian prescription would be to provide civil unions for all, and let churches perform marriages which would have no legal standing. This system exists in several European countries; a legally binding civil ceremony is required, but the option exists to have an additional church ceremony for those who want it. The American system is actually very similar to this; however, due to legal language, the term "civil union" presents a case of "separate but equal", and the Supreme Court has previously ruled the term (in Brown v. Board of Education) to be a paradox, i.e. inherently impossible. Because the rights and privileges are currently tied to the specific term "marriage", nothing less than marriage (in the legal sense) is considered acceptable. Meanwhile, proponents correctly argue that the religious ceremony is irrelevant to this case and is not being argued; it is the legal status associated with the civil ceremony that is at issue. The 2012 Libertarian Party presidential candidate Gary Johnson initially supported a version of this that would involve changing every instance of the word "marriage" in every bit of government regulation to instead say "civil union", thus theoretically satisfying the constitutional argument, but he later changed his mind to support full marriage equality once he realized how impractical his proposal was.
Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, libertarian Reason Magazine argued that the long-term goal of eliminating government-sponsored marriage entirely was no reason to oppose same-sex marriage in the short term. They compared this to a hypothetical situation where the government passed a law forbidding blacks from driving on interstate highways — clearly it would not be enough for libertarians to declare that government should not own the roads and leave it at that. They argued the similar argument against same-sex marriage is thus equally invalid. The article went as far as to say there is no solid libertarian argument against same-sex marriage. In other words, even from a libertarian perspective, this argument makes no sense.No Solid Libertarian Argument Against Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage by Sheldon Richman (June 28, 2015) Reason.
===="Just don't call it marriage"====
Some people don't oppose gay unions, but oppose calling them "marriage", often citing how they believe marriage should be exclusively a religious thing. These people will often support civil unions or another form of recognized partnership as a "moderate" option.The Marrying Kind by Jonathan Ranch (May 2002) The Atlantic However, there are several problems with this:
#Virtually every time they are implemented, civil unions don't grant all of the same rights as marriages. Adoption rights, for instance, usually aren't granted by civil unions.Czech Republic rules against same-sex couples adopting as wave of homophobia continues sweeping across Europe by Emma Powys Maurice (12 January 2021) PinkNews.
#People in civil unions are forced to reveal their sexual orientation every time they have to reveal their marital status, e.g. when they apply for a job or housing. This can easily lead to discrimination.Switzerland’s same-sex marriage referendum explained (25 September 2021) Deutsche Welle via Taiwan News.
#Marriage is a legal status that is recognized even in secular states. Religions don't have a monopoly on marriage, as most countries recognize marriages through marriage licenses or similar systems rather than requiring any religious ceremonies.Getting Married? Know the Legal Requirements — and Documents — You’ll Need ARAG Legal.
#And as mentioned before, there are many religions that do support gay marriage. Why should they be banned from marrying gay people?
===Arguments about children and reproduction===
Conservatives might shout "Won't somebody think of the children?" and defend the norm of the heterosexual nuclear family. Of course, some children have same-sex parents, and contrary to flawed studies,A “reality check” for the Regnerus study on gay parenting [UPDATED] by Dale Carpenter (May 11, 2015) Washington Post. credible research can't seem to find any difference between them and children raised by opposite-sex parents. Ironically, homophobic policies like bans on same-sex marriage diminish the ability of same-sex parents to form stable households, harming their children. So yes, won't somebody think of the children indeed?
The argument that children should not be raised by same-sex couples has been debunked extensively. Scientific research has consistently shown that homosexual parents are just as effective as heterosexual parents,Measurement, methods, and divergent patterns: Reassessing the effects of same-sex parents by Simon Chenga & Brian Powell (2015) Social Science Research 52:615-626. doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.04.005. and the psychological well-being of children reared by same-sex couples is not worse than that of children raised by opposite-sex parents.Marriage of Same-Sex Couples – 2006 Position Statement Canadian Psychological Association.Amici brief in Perry v. Schwarzenegger from the American Psychological Association and others.Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Parented Families: A Literature Review prepared for The Australian Psychological Society by Elizabeth et al. (August 2007) The Australian Psychological Society Ltd..Cross‐border surrogacy: Experiences of heterosexual and gay parents in Sweden by Gunilla Sydsjö et al. (2019) Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica 98(1):68-76. doi:10.1111/aogs.13456. In fact, same-sex couples and their children are likely to benefit greatly from legal recognition through marriage, moreso than through civil unions.Legal recognition of same-sex relationships in the United States: A social science perspective by G. M. Herek (2006) American Psychologist 61(6):607–621. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.61.6.607. Studies from 2011 added a tantalizing suggestion that not only are gay couples "equal" parents to straight couples, they might even be better on average for two reasons: Firstly, gay couples are more likely to have chosen the time and place for children, as they cannot accidentally get pregnant or have more children than they want, and secondly, gay couples (and this is true of any child raised outside of the 'norm') generally expose kids to more diversity in their relationships, resulting in the children being raised with more tolerance.Are Same-Sex Couples Better Parents? by Lisa Belkin (November 6, 2009) The New York Times (archived from May 16, 2012).
===="Children need a male and a female role model"====
A child has many opportunities to find role models; such role models don't need to be legal guardians of the child. Children of full-time working parents spend more time awake in daycare and school than with their parents. It should also be noted that, despite insistence that having both a male and female parent is vital for child development, homophobes will typically have less of a problem with single parents raising children.
Since the most early times, even before we could be called “humans”, our tribes lived their daily lives at the center of the village, raising their children together. The modern version of this is day nurseries, schools, sports clubs, the uncle that gives you a job, etc. So we humans have always had more than just our biological parents to raise us, and there were always enough women and men around (unless the child is raised on ) One could even argue that all groups of social animals do exactly the same, even if in more primitive forms.
This argument is also not an argument against same-sex marriage but against same-sex parenting, which opponents of homosexuality frequently conflate. If you truly believe in the social good of marriage and long-term relationships but dislike gay people being parents, then considering that gay people are parents (from sperm donation, surrogacy, adoption or previous heterosexual relationships), they should probably prefer that gay parents are in long-term, stable relationships… but they never quite seem to get around to seeing the validity of this point.
===="Children should be raised by their biological parents"====
There is little convincing evidence to back up this somewhat arbitrary claim, as a child's development is determined by the relationship and interactions with a parent, rather than pure genetic relationship. There are also many orphans who cannot or should not be raised by their biological parents and a shortage of adopters.
Stable same-sex couples provide a pool of potential adopters prepared to raise children in a loving environment — one that is probably better, in fact, than what their biological parents would have provided. Same-sex couples never accidentally adopt a baby or have one birthed by a surrogate. This means that on average, same-sex couples are older, more responsible, and far more prepared to raise a child than the average opposite-sex couple.
===="The law of fatherhood is not applicable to same-sex couples"====
In many jurisdictions, the fatherhood is commonly handed to the mother's husband by default, even if he is not the biological father. Same-sex couples don't function that way, but this can be solved by consensual agreements between the breeders. Notwithstanding some non-consensual events, it's not like they will fertilize by accident if they are gay.
====Divorce is unforeseeable and is thus not comparable to intentional same-sex union====
Drunks, murderers, drug users, violent people, serial killers, and Rick Perry are all conditions that are also unforeseeable, yet no one seems to have a problem with those people having children. Are we going to examine each person and decide whether they can have children or not in order to create some kind of "pure race", where only the perfect people can have children? Even if homosexuality would have a bad influence on the children, that still isn't a good argument unless you want to create a utopian society of perfect people having perfect children.
===Emotional responses===
====It's unnatural====
So is driving a car.
In all seriousness, apart from homosexual relationships being encountered in non-humans as well,Boston Swan Duo Are Same Sex (August 13, 2005) ABC News. this is actually fallacious on multiple fronts. First, it seems to hold nature (the same nature that has given us countless illnesses, parasites, disfigurement, disasters, and death) in a higher regard than human will and happiness. Second, it ignores that humans, gay humans included, are part of nature too and therefore have as much of a right to define it. Third, it implies that if something is unnatural, it is bad. Of course, this ignores that there are quite a lot of things in the lives of humans that are unnatural. Wearing coats rather than fur, for example, or even the computer that you're reading this page off of. But really, considering that all computers and smoke-belching factories have to be derived from something natural somewhere, just what exactly is "unnatural"?
====It's yucky====
Some people seriously consider this as a genuine reason for banning gay marriage. An individual being uncomfortable with a subject, however, shouldn't be the basis for a discriminatory law.
The general thinking will be thus: "Seriously, have you ever seen two guys kiss? Unpleasant. And the feelings it stirs up, the twin repulsion and attraction… UNCOMFORTABLE. Clearly, such activities must be banned! Not letting them get married is a good first step."
In a bizarre twist that could be considered irony, people who are squeamish about gay men may well approve of two women getting it on, especially if there's a cup involved.This can be proved with extremely bad statistics; There's a lot of lesbian porn out there, there are lots of homophobes out there. Ergo, the two groups must overlap somewhere.
===Religious objections===
====Religious freedom====
Many Christians attempt to argue that, since their opposition to gay marriage is based on religious grounds, allowing gay marriage or prohibiting discrimination against gays is somehow infringing upon their religious libertyThere have been cases where anti-gay/homophobic t-shirt slogans were prohibited in schools, but the action was fought on grounds of religious expression. — never mind the religious freedom of the gay couple.
The short answer to this is: "Tough!"
The long answer is: "Tough shit!"
The longer answer is that describing hatred or discrimination as religiously motivated does not make it any less evil. Rigid gender roles and discrimination against people of different races have also been justified on the basis of religion… but they are still wrong. Mass murder and slavery have been justified on the basis of religion. That doesn't make them right, however. This is a basic underpinning of a pluralist society. Where there are multiple worldviews and versions of "morality," the one that should be used to form laws is the one that minimizes harm.And then the religious people will go back to the claim that same-sex marriage hurts people, and the cycle goes ad infinitum. This is the essential thinking behind laws such as the establishment clause or any law that separates church and state.
In the US specifically, every citizen has the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", any such activity that could interfere with those basic rights is prohibited – the whole "your right to swing your fist ends where my face begins" idea. The legal answer is that regardless of religion, when a discriminatory action is identified, Congress has the power by the Fourteenth Amendment to eradicate that evil. Further, free exercise does not include hate crimes. Finally, speech against homosexuality — like all hate speech — is protected by the First Amendment, to a degree. In addition, at the federal level, Congress is not allowed to pass laws that are purely for religious purposes because of the First Amendment, and religious opposition to same-sex marriage has no legal ground to stand on. This also applies at the state level with the inclusion of the Fourteenth Amendment, prohibiting rights being denied without a secular cause (due process), and in many cases, people don't care if [insert religion here] recognizes a gay couple's marriage; they tend to be more focused on their government recognizing their marriage. So religious freedom is unharmed, so long as it does not infringe upon another's freedom. John Stuart Mill would be proud.
This argument also tends to ignore that non-homophobic religions exist as well. If, for instance, a Unitarian church couldn't marry a gay couple, wouldn't that infringe upon their religious freedom?
====Divine retribution====
Christian fundamentalists sometimes argue that same-sex marriage risks divine retribution. In California in 2008, after hundreds of same-sex marriages, Ray Comfort argued that a drought and ensuing wildfires were the result of God demonstrating his displeasure with the state for legalizing gay marriage. Incidentally, the fires affected the more biblically-oriented people in rural California, while those more likely to have voted for gay marriage, in San Francisco for example, escaped retribution. 
Any natural disaster can be shoehorned into this, "Seriously. Isn’t it nice how God has arranged that there is pain and suffering in every part of the world, just so His preachers have something to point to and say “Sinners!”?" (PZ Myers) 
In response to the legalization of gay marriage in the UK, UKIP councillor David Silvester wrote:
The Westboro Baptist Church believes that gay marriage will lead to destruction on the scale of the Global flood and the total destruction of the United States.
Just in case natural disasters are not enough, Pat Robertson argued that God would (probably) punish Americans for allowing LGBT rights with a "massive financial collapse." World stock market turmoil is also a punishment for allowing gay marriage.Pat Robertson Says God Will Hit U.S. With 'Financial Collapse' Because Of LGBT Rights by Curtis M. Wong (July 11, 2015) Huffington Post.
Roman Catholics may argue along similar lines. At least one priest blamed gay civil unions in Italy for an earthquake there. The Vatican and the Church hierarchy generally disagreed.Vatican Condemns Catholic Radio Station After Priest Blames Earthquake on Gay Civil Unions by Hemant Mehta (November 7, 2016) Patheos.
===Alleged unpopularity===
If the majority of the people don't want same-sex marriage, unpopular laws allowing it could backfire and result in more aggression (we should wait until people become more open-minded).
This ignores the fact that a majority of people (at least in the West) do support same-sex marriage, and ignores the generational demographics. Each passing generation is more supportive than the last, with the growth getting faster each time and acceptance growing quicker and quicker as support becomes more visible. The end result is that the largest group of people against it are old, while younger generations who will continue society after the homophobic generations are gone show overwhelming support.Attitudes on Same-Sex Marriage (May 14, 2019) Pew Research Forum.
====Happiness for whom?====
As discussed above, in a community allowing same-sex marriage, the two partners in the union experience greater personal happiness. However, when same-sex marriage is banned, those who experience greater happiness are those uninvolved with the relationship, for example, Bible-thumping preachers, wingnuts, busybodies, etc. These people gain some slight personal pleasure from the violation of rights and oppression of others. It also seems that as moral agents worried about human happiness and suffering, we ought to ignore happiness that comes only through denying rights to others. 
Recent studies have suggested that not only does legalizing marriage in an area generally make homosexual individuals in that area happier, it also makes them physically and mentally healthier and saves them money on health care.Effect of Same-Sex Marriage Laws on Health Care Use and Expenditures in Sexual Minority Men: A Quasi-Natural Experiment by Mark L. Hatzenbuehler et al. (2012) American Journal of Public Health 102(2):285-291. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300382. Studies are not known to have shown a similar increase in health for the oppressors.
====People will be forced to accept gays====
A rather weak argument is that even though gay marriage won't affect other people's marriages, it will somehow affect their lives. One example is judges being forced to grant same-sex marriage (i.e., do their jobs). If a judge refuses he or she could be sanctioned. However, this is not a religious issue and judges aren't changing their personal views. Of course, if a judge nowadays decided not to grant marriage for interracial or interfaith couples, there would be outrage.
If gay people are allowed to adopt, then adoption agencies will have to allow same-sex couples to adopt their children, giving them a loving home. Because of this pressure some agencies would rather terminate their agencies than let a minority adopt children. This is where the argument becomes moot, because the problem ceases to exist.Catholic Charities stuns state, ends adoptions by Patricia Wen (March 11, 2006) The Boston Globe.
And when it comes to having children, doctors will have to perform artificial insemination on lesbian couples even if it goes against their moral code. In effect, the doctor would be playing God, deciding on who can have children and who can't.And this is coming from the people who decry playing God. As with the judge analogy, people would be outraged if the doctor refused to inseminate based on race or religion (which has happened in 2014).Calgary fertility clinic in hot water after refusing to help with mixed-race babies by Gloria Galloway & Carrie Tait (July 28, 2014) The Globe and Mail. Come on, if there's somebody there willing to do an abortion, they'll put a turkey baster in there too.
On the subject of children, schools will teach children what gay marriage is like. This is very simple, but many parents have strong objections over it. The truth is, the schools aren't saying gay marriage is better than straight marriage, it is just saying that this is a reality. Since same-sex couples can have children now, it makes sense for them to teach children what other families are like, and likely decreasing bullying while doing it. In addition, if a parent is so concerned about what their child is learning in school, they might want to consider using the other 17 hours in the day they see them to tell them how much they hate people who don't affect them.
There are moral objections to many aspects of jobs. However, that does not mean people should be excused from doing their jobs. A Hindu waiter can't refuse to serve meat at non-vegetarian restaurants without facing being fired. Doctors, judges, teachers, and adoption agencies shouldn't get a free pass, either.
====Murder of African Christians====
If the Church of England allows gay marriage, Africans could associate Christianity with homosexuality, then Africans could fear Christianity will turn them all gay. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby claimed there has been at least one mass murder of Christians due to this way of thinking.Welby: backing gay marriage could be 'catastrophic' for Christians elsewhere (April 4, 2014) BBC. Later Welby amended what he said and claimed allowing such murders to affect Church of England policy would give in to terror.Welby: Church 'struggling' over same-sex marriages (April 19, 2014) BBC.
====Part of a Western agenda====
As most of western Europe, North America, and the Anglosphere have legalized gay marriage, the fight for marriage equality has expanded all over the world. However, this has led to many conservative traditionalists arguing that same-sex marriage is a Western idea that has no place in their culture, and that the people who support it are promoting a Western agenda that will lead to the secularization/Americanization of their society.A Hindu conservative argument against same sex marriages: Religious sanction, dictatorship of the minority, and where does it end? Altering the definition of marriage is a radical reformation of the structure of society. And our default position should be an aversion towards radical change. by K. Bhattacharjee (15 September 2020) OpIndia. This ignores that many of these cultures have a long history of homosexuality and in many cases it was European colonialism that led to homosexuality being stigmatized, meaning that hating homosexuality is more of a Western invention.The Unanswered Question of Same-Sex Marriages in India by Paras Sharma (9 October 2020) Jurist. Just to name one example, the story of Pan Zhang and Wang Zhongxian is a story of a gay union that dates all the way back to the Zhou Dynasty in China.Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China by Bret Hinsch (1992) University of California Press. ISBN 0520078691.
==="All of the above"===
The "everything including the kitchen sink" approach is exemplified by a speech that Iowa State Senator Dennis Guth gave in April 2013 in which he accused gay people and homosexuality of breeding mental health problems, shortening people's lifespans, causing health problems for heterosexual Americans (by causing "more and more medical tests required before giving blood or giving birth", though what precautionary blood tests have to do with spreading disease is a mystery) and other phenomena, including the downfall of past civilizations due to the failure of traditional marriage.GOP State Senator: Homosexual Relationships Pose ‘Health Risks’ To My Family by Sy Mukherjee (April 17, 2013) ThinkProgress (archived from May 29, 2013).Iowa State Sen. Dennis Guth: A Study in Ignorance, Hypocrisy, Self-Loathing, and Lack of Education by Aurthur Ide (April 23, 2013) Arthur Frederick Ide. Unsurprisingly, Guth was a freshman Senator at the time,Iowa Senate 4: Guth over Jennings by Peggy Senzarino (November 6, 2012) Globe Gazette. and the fact that he was up for election again in 2014Senator Dennis Guth The Iowa Legislature (archived from January 27, 2013). might explain the reasoning behind such a speech.
==American legal arguments for same-sex marriage==
===Possible equal protection arguments===
The easiest, most open-and-shut case for gay marriage goes like this: "prohibiting gay marriage classifies on the basis of sexual orientation. Sexual orientation discrimination is repugnant to the Constitution. Please allow gay marriage, or allow civil unions that confer the same benefits." This makes the most sense, and is the easiest formulation to state. However, the issue is a little harder…
The preceding argument is an equal protection argument. However gay rights have, thus far, only been advocated on substantive due process grounds (building from the due process clause), as in Lawrence v. Texas.In Romer v. Evans, the Supreme Court did address discrimination against homosexuals, and struck it down on equal protection grounds… however, this did not add any new rights to couples, or remove existing barriers. Instead, it merely prevented the state of Colorado from erecting new barriers. The same case ardently refused to address gay rights as an equal protection issue, and refused especially to suggest that gay rights deserve any special protection under the equal protection clause.A concurring opinion by Sandra Day O'Connor did argue the law in question should be struck down under the Equal Protection Clause, though it rejected the Due Process argument and would have upheld any anti-sodomy law that applied equally to heterosexual and homosexual couples. The other eight justices rejected this claim, however. Without this special protection (strict scrutiny, hopefully at some point) such rights can be removed or abridged with a merely pretextual reason, effectively preventing an equal protection argument for gay marriage from succeeding.
Some hope was to be had, though; by way of implication in Romer v. Evans the Supreme Court intimated that homosexuality may be entitled to a higher form of protection, noting that "animus laid bare" is not enough to justify discrimination. This suggestion at least left the door open for an equal protection argument.
===Substantive due process and the race analogy===
The Supreme Court has once before tackled the right to marry. In Loving v. Virginia, the Supreme Court invalidated a Virginia statute that voided and forbade any marriage between members of different races (miscegenation). The aptly named Lovings successfully sued Virginia to invalidate the law, although it required appealing to the Supreme Court to win a favorable verdict.
In the opinion, the Supreme Court struck down the statute largely based on equal protection grounds, finding that the statute improperly set up a racial hierarchy and perpetuated repression and discrimination against African Americans. Virginia had defended against this argument on the basis that the statute was "formally equal"; it did not hurt African Americans any more than Caucasians. Neither could marry the other. This formal equality, Virginia argued, was dispositive of any discrimination claim. In finding against Virginia, the Supreme Court employed its rarely used "Get Real!" technique; regardless of formal equality, said the Court, everyone knew the real impetus behind the law, and couching its defense in legal formalities would not allow the court to overlook this great inequity. This case was a great victory for the civil rights movement.
This was the holding of the case — or, its primary legal significance. Importantly, though, as an afterthought, the Court tossed in one comment at the very end of the opinion, saying that the Court had no need to reach the argument that the due process clause could protect, as fundamental to the American way of life, the right to marry. Although merely one line of dicta,"Dicta" is by-the-way argumentation presented in an opinion, not necessary to the underlying holding or the critical legal issue being resolved. An example would be, in an opinion holding a defendant liable for tort damages, the court discussing a theory of tort recovery not relied upon in the case. Dicta don't provide precedent; they are, however, illuminating and can be used to form a persuasive case, if not relied upon as the entirety of that case. this line suggests that the Court at one point recognized a fundamental right to marry.
A theoretical argument for same-sex marriage could make use of this dicta, defining marriage as a "fundamental right" which is "deeply rooted" in the nation's history, implicit in the concept of "ordered liberty," and the restriction of this right should be struck down upon strict scrutiny unless it is "narrowly tailored to a compelling state interest."Washington v. Glucksberg, 521 U.S. 702 (defining the standard for substantive due process claims, and stating that fundamental rights are due strict scrutiny). The Supreme Court has consistently held that such rights are due protection.Opponents will rebut, exclaiming that gay marriage is not a fundamental right — and therefore should be subject to the comparatively lighter form of judicial review, rational basis review. The dicta in Loving v. Virginia, proponents can argue, suggests otherwise.
Even if evaluating gay marriage under substantive due process triggers only rational basis review, though, restrictions on gay marriage arguably fail even this moderate test. Persuasive authority, found in Goodridge v. Dep’t of Public Health,400 Mass. 309 (Marshall, Chief Justice, for the Court). suggests that restrictions on gay marriage do fail rational basis review, finding such restrictions are arbitrary and capricious, since:
* There is no showing that restricting marriage to heterosexual couples will further any state interest: no state actor can prove damage to heterosexual marriages if gays are allowed to marry,
* Discrimination based on immorality fails, since this is impermissible in the wake of Lawrence v. Texas, and,
* The state (here, Massachusetts) conceded that gay parents are good parents.
However, any substantive due process argument for same-sex marriage would have to establish, as a predicate, that same-sex marriage is a type of conduct, since substantive due process generally protects only conduct.
===Objections to the race analogy===
Conservatives object strongly to any attempt to analogize between racism and homophobia, and discrimination against gays and discrimination against non-white races. The objection is based upon the assumption by said conservatives that sexual preference, unlike race, is not inborn (immutable). The obvious objection is that, in fact, sexual preference is immutable, although debate goes on, or, if not immutable, is so highly correlative with environmental factors and/or personal identity that it defies classification as a "choice," and should still be legally protected. A more appropriate analogy than race, in this case, would be religion — religion is a choice, although a deeply personal choice — and therefore, the law protects (and should protect) individuals from discrimination on the basis of such deep choices (and it does, in the case of religion).
On the other side of the political spectrum, some adherents of racial identity politics also maintain that analogies between racism and homophobia are false, their specific beef being the gay campaign against "don't ask, don't tell". Activist Sharon Martinas put it this way, "Some queer activists, whose movement was started by queers of color at Stonewall, focus their struggle on the right to become equal opportunity murderers of peoples of color in the U.S. military. And we use false analogies between homophobic and racial oppression to justify demands for these 'equal rights.'"Racism and the Rise of the Right by Sharon Martinas (c. 1995) Changing White Supremacy Workshop.
These objections are, at least in the context of American constitutional law, spurious: Loving v. Virginia did not rely on race as a unique distinguishing category but on its conclusion (for which reason it was instrumental in developing substantive due process) that no state interest whatsoever benefited from excluding particular people from marriage. The decision in that case pointed out that marriage is a critically significant (and private) individual choice (outside the opinion, it's notable that even convicted murderers on death row are accorded the right to marry) and weighed restrictions on marriage as being presumptively unconstitutional and requiring the state to individually justify any limitations on it.
==Status==
===Legal===
* legalized civil unions in 2014 and eventually legalized gay civil marriage in 2022, with all existing civil unions being converted to marriages.Andorra becomes the 33rd country with marriage equality, Alex Bollinger, LGBTQ Nation 22 July 2022
*Argentina legalized same-sex marriage on July 15th, 2010.Argentina Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage, CBS News, July 15, 2010
*Australia has passed legislation legalizing gay marriage, which received assent from the Governor-General on 8th December 2017, coming into force the following day.Marriage equality in Australia, Australian Government, December 9, 2017
*Austria allowed civil unions ("registered partnerships") since January 1st, 2010. Benefits were mostly equal to full marriages but excluded adoption rights. Austria fully legalized gay marriage in 2019 due to a court ruling.Same-sex marriage becomes legal in Austria, Michael K. Lavers, Washington Blade 2 Jan 2019
*Belgium was the second nation, after the Netherlands, to legalize same-sex marriage on January 30th 2003, in an at the time controversial move.
*Brazil has had civil unions since 2004.Brazil's groundbreaking three-person civil union, The Week, January 10, 2015 The situation was complex but a number of these unions had been recognized as marriages. Same-sex marriage was legal as of December 2012 in the state of São Paulo.Brazil’s most populous state to allow same-sex marriage, Washington Blade, December 21, 2012 In May 14, 2013, a Federal Court ruling legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.How the first year of same-sex marriages in Brazil went, Glaad, December 15, 2014
*Canada legalized gay marriage in the province of Ontario in 2003.Canada has not yet been destroyed by God as an example unto others. Other provinces soon followed suit, and it was legalized across the country on July 20 2005, later surviving a second vote called by the Conservative government of Stephen Harper in 2006, who following the vote declared that the he "[doesn't] see reopening this question in the future."Galloway, Gloria. Same-sex marriage file closed for good, PM says. The Globe and Mail, August 12, 2006.
*Chile has recognized civil unions since 2015. In December 2021, the legislature passed a bill legalizing gay marriage, with it coming into effect in March 2022.Chile's Congress approves same-sex marriage by an overwhelming majority, NPR 7 December 2021
*Colombia became the fourth South American country to legalize gay marriage in 2016 as a result of a court ruling.Colombia legalises gay marriage, BBC News 29 April 2017
*Costa Rica recognized same-sex civil partnerships since 2013.Kane, Corey. Costa Rican legislature accidentally passes gay marriage legalization. TicoTimes.net, July 3, 2013 (archived).Chinchilla, Laura Miranda; Oviedo, Manrique; Orozco, Justo; Villalta, José María. ¿Aprueban por accidente matrimonio gay en Costa Rica?. SDPNoticias.com, July 3, 2013. After a binding ruling from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights legalizing same-sex marriage, the government announced its intention to comply by 2018.Inter-American Court endorses same-sex marriage. Agence France-Presse, January 10, 2018.
*Cuba proposed a new family bill that would not only legalize gay marriage but also allow for adoptions and surrogacy in September 2021 after an earlier attempt to legalize same-sex marriage in the constitution failed due to opposition from hardline Catholic groups.Gay marriage, adoption, surrogacy: Revolutionary bill raises hope among LGBTIQ+ Cubans, Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald 17 September 2021 A referendum on the bill was held one year later, and it passed with two thirds of voters in favor.Cuba approves same-sex marriage, adoption, DW News 26 September 2022
*Denmark was the first country to establish registered partnerships in 1989.Rights for Gay Couples in Denmark, New York Times, October 2, 1989 The relevant rights have since been steadily expanded and covered adoptions since July 2010,Gay couples in Denmark now allowed to adopt, ILGA 5 May 2010 with full marriage since June 2012.Denmark approves same-sex marriage and church weddings, BBC News, June 7, 2012 Greenland, a dependency of Denmark, legalized gay marriage in 2015,Greenland: Same-Sex Marriage Bill Passes, Library of Congress 11 June 2015 as did the in 2017.Same-sex marriage legalised in the Faroe Islands, faroeislands.fo 15 June 2017
*Ecuador legalized gay marriage by court ruling in 2019.Ecuador’s highest court legalizes same-sex marriage, Kara Fox and Ana Melgar Zuniga, CNN 13 June 2019
*Estonia has allowed civil unions since 2015, but progress had been slowed and had even come close to outright reverting due to the rise of the far right. While Estonia has a reputation for being a liberal country, outside of Tallinn this isn't really the case.Estonia's liberal reputation at stake as gay marriage referendum emboldens the far-right, Linas Jegelevicius, euronews 6 November 2020 An attempt in 2020 to constitutionally ban gay marriage failed with the collapse of the coalition that pushed for it, but the following coalition wasn't much more friendly to gay rights.A Cliffhanger for LGBT+ Rights in Estonia, Mattias Turovski and Züleyxa Izmailova, Green European Journal 4 June 2021 However, in June 2023, the Parliament finally passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage, making them the first ex-Soviet Union country to do so.Estonia passes law to allow same-sex marriage, Al Jazeera 20 June 2023
*Finland has allowed civil unions since 2002, including the right to adopt a partner's own children. Attempts to introduce a gender neutral marriage law failed in 2012 after a 9 to 8 decision by the Legal Affairs Committee of the Finnish Parliament. However, on March 19th, 2013, a citizens' initiative managed to collect the 50,000 signatures required to override the Committee's decision in just a single day, putting the bill before Parliament.Petitioners take gay marriage bill to Parliament. yli.fi, March 19, 2013. Finland would ultimately legalize gay marriage in 2017.Finland to Allow Same-Sex Marriage, Human Rights Watch 21 February 2017
*France established civil unions in the form of private contracts in 1999. They were open to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples and equal to marriages as far as taxation was concerned, but lacked some joint property and adoption rights. Same-sex marriage was legalized on May 18th, 2013.Charlton, Angela. French president signs gay marriage into law. Washington Post, May 18, 2013.
*Germany introduced civil unions (called "registered partnerships") for same-sex couples in 2001. Gay marriage has been legalized by a vote of the German Parliament in 2017.German president signs gay marriage bill into law. Deutsche Welle, June 21st 2017.
*Greece started recognizing same-sex civil unions in December of 2015.Greece: Historic recognition of same-sex relationships, Amnesty International, December 22, 2015 In February 2024, they legalized same-sex marriage, becoming the first Eastern Orthodox-majority country to do so.Greece just legalized same-sex marriage. Will other Orthodox countries join them any time soon?, Peter Smith and Dasha Litvinova, Associated Press 16 February 2024
*Iceland legalized same-sex marriage in June 2010 by a unanimous 49-0 vote.Iceland passes gay marriage law in unanimous vote, Reuters, June 11, 2010
*Ireland approved a bill establishing civil unions with privileges equal to opposite-sex cohabitation (but not marriages, notably excluding joint adoption) in July 2010. The law came into effect on January 1st, 2011. Civil unions could not be classed as 'marriages' due to the constitution's definition, but following a referendum on May 22nd, 2015, the constitution was amended with a 62% majority to explicitly include same-sex couples.Ó Caollaí, Éanna; Hilliard, Mark. Ireland becomes first country to approve same-sex marriage by popular vote. The Irish Times, May 24, 2015.
*Liechtenstein established civil unions in 2011, and in May 2024 their Parliament legalized same-sex marriage in a nearly unanimous vote, which will come into effect at the beginning of 2025.Liechtenstein legalizes same-sex marriage in near-unanimous vote, Seb Starcevic, Politico 17 May 2024
* established civil unions without joint adoption rights in 2004. The government introduced a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in July 2010. Ultimately, a bill legalizing gay marriage was passed in June 2014 and took effect at the beginning of 2015.Luxembourg: Marriage Equality Approved, Human Rights Watch 18 June 2014
* went from being one of the most socially conservative countries in Europe to legalizing gay marriage in September 2017. They now have the best LGBTQ rights in all of Europe.Country Ranking, Rainbow Europe
*Mexico's same-sex marriage ban was struck down in December 2012. Different Mexican states legalized same-sex marriage at different times, but on 27 October 2022, Tamaulipas became the final state to recognize same-sex marriage, finally legalizing it nationwide.Mexican States Ordered to Honor Gay Marriages, David Agren, New York Times 10 August 2010This Mexican State Just Legalized Same-Sex Marriage and Outlawed Conversion Therapy, James Factora, them 30 August 2021Same-sex marriage becomes legal nationwide in Mexico, Al Jazeera 27 October 2022
*In 2023, the Supreme Court of Nepal ordered the Parliament to legalize same-sex marriage.Supreme Court's historic decision, recognizing same-sex marriage (full text of the order and video), Madhav Dulal, Pahichan 20 March 2023 The first same-sex marriage was performed on 29 November 2023.Nepal registers first same-sex marriage; 'historic', say activists, Gopal Sharma, Reuters 30 November 2023
*The Netherlands became the first nation to grant same-sex marriages in April 2001. They are not granted, however, in Sint Maarten, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, though Sint Maarten must recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. In July 2024, a decision by the Dutch Supreme Court fully legalized same-sex marriage in Aruba and Curaçao, the other constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.Supreme Court confirms right to same-sex marriage in Aruba and Curaçao, Nauta Dutilh 12 July 2024
*New Zealand legalized same-sex marriage on April 17, 2013,New Zealand legalises same-sex marriage, BBC, April 17, 2013 with the first marriages being performed on August 19, 2013.New Zealand holds first same-sex marriages, Aljazeera, August 19, 2013 The legislation bill that legalized same-sex marriage also granted adoption rights to same-sex couples.
*Norway legalized same-sex marriage on June 12, 2008 (effective January 1, 2009). They also made adoption easier for same-sex couples, and made lesbian couples eligible for state-funded fertility drugs.UPI.com: Norway approves same-sex marriage law. upi.com, June 12, 2008.
*Portugal legalized same-sex marriage in 2010, with the relevant bill coming into effect on June 5th.Same-sex marriage around the world, CBC News, February 7, 2012
*In Slovenia, a law that would legalize gay adoption and even out hetero- and homosexual partnerships was put to a referendum in 2015 that failed by a margin of 63%-37%.Slovenia rejects same-sex marriages in a referendum, Marja Novak, Reuters 20 December 2015 In 2016, however, a law recognizing civil unions was passed.Same-sex partnership act passed, STA 21 April 2016 Later, a 2022 court ruling made them the first eastern European country to legalize gay marriage.Slovenia paves the way for same-sex marriage and adoption, Jean-Baptiste Chastand, Le Monde 12 July 2022
*South Africa legalized same-sex marriages in 2006 following an earlier ruling by the country's constitutional court. Also, in 2020, a law banned marriage officers from refusing to conduct same-sex marriage.5 Countries in Africa That Have Legalized Same-Sex Relationships in the Past 10 Years, Global Citizen, February 25, 2021
*Spain allowed full marriage rights for same-sex couples in June 2005, despite strong opposition from the Roman Catholic Church.Spain Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage, New York Times, June 30, 2005
*Sweden legalized gay marriages on May 1, 2009.Sweden: Same-Sex Marriage Now Legal, New York Times, April 2, 2009
*Switzerland established civil unions on January 1st, 2007. A referendum on full marriage equality passed on September 26, 2021 and came into effect starting on July 1, 2022.Switzerland votes to make same-sex marriage legal by near two-thirds majority, Reuters 26 September 2021
*The top court in Taiwan ruled on May 24, 2017 that same-sex marriage being banned was unconstitutional, and that if not legalized within two years of the ruling, it would become legal automatically.Taiwan top court rules in favour of gay marriage. CNA, May 24, 2017.
*Thailand's senate passed a marriage equality law in June 2024, making them the first country in southeast Asia and the third Asian country overall to legalize same-sex marriage.Thailand to be first Southeast Asian country to recognise same-sex marriage, Chayut Setboonsarng and Panarat Thepgumpanat, Reuters 18 June 2024
*The United Kingdom instituted "civil partnerships", restricted to same-sex couples, on 5 December 2005, which had identical rights and responsibilities to civil marriage under all Marriage Acts since 1836, except that you were not allowed to call them "marriages", or have them solemnized in a religious ceremony.'Gay weddings' become law in UK. BBC, December 5, 2005.Civil Partnerships. General Register Office (archived).Registering a Civil Partnership in Scotland. General Register Office for Scotland (archived). The law was further changed for England and Wales in July 2013Same-sex marriage becomes law in England and Wales. BBC News, July 17, 2013. so that same sex couples could have marriages, though religious organizations will not be forced to perform or recognize them. The first such weddings were legal from 29 March 2014 in the England and Wales. Scotland legalized gay marriage by the end of the same year.MSPs endorse gay marriage bill. BBC News, November 8, 2013.Same sex marriage becomes law. gov.uk, July 17, 2013.Gay marriage legalised at midnight in England and Wales. BBC News, March 28, 2014.White, Griff. Gay marriage ban ending in England and Wales on Saturday. Washington Post, March 29, 2014.Gay marriage law comes into effect in Scotland, BBC News 16 December 2014 On 13 January 2020, Northern Ireland legalized gay marriage as well.Same-sex marriage now legal in Northern Ireland, Peter Coulter, BBC News NI 13 January 2020 Additionally, it has been legalized in the Crown Dependencies of Isle of Man, Gibraltar, Guernsey, and Jersey since 2016, 2016, 2017, and 2018 respectively.Same-sex couples can now marry in the Isle of Man, itv 22 July 2016Gibraltar passes same-sex marriage with unanimous support, Joe Morgan, GayStarNews 26 October 2016Guernsey passes same-sex marriage law, Nick Duffy, PinkNews 21 September 2016Jersey to introduce same-sex marriage from 1 July, BBC 27 June 2018
*Uruguay's president signed a law permitting same-sex marriages on May 3, 2013, and it took effect on August 5 of that year.Same-sex marriage bill comes into force in Uruguay. BBC News, August 5, 2013.
====The United States====
In a little more than five years, the United States of America went from being a nation where same-sex marriage was unthinkable to one in which it was the law of the land. In 2009 five states and the District of Columbia legalized same-sex marriage. Gradually, more states passed laws allowing marriage equality, and while some legal challenges to the movement were successful, it became obvious that the tide was turning in favor of same-sex marriage. On 26 June 2015, the Supreme Court laid the issue to rest in a 5-4 ruling in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges. According to a 2021 Gallup poll, the percentage of Americans who support same sex marriage has been growing and is higher than ever before! Roughly 70% of Americans now favor same sex marriage (including over half of Republicans).McCarthy, Justin. Record-High 70% in U.S. Support Same-Sex Marriage. Gallup, June 8, 2021.Madhani, Aamer. Poll: Approval of same-sex marriage in U.S. reaches new high. USA Today, May 23, 2018. However, gay marriage is still banned in American SamoaAmerican Samoa, Equaldex and 
;November 18, 2003
:Goodridge v. Dept. of Public Health rules that same-sex couples have a right to marry in Massachusetts, which came into effect on May 17, 2004.Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, CaseBriefs
;May 15, 2008
:The state Supreme Court strikes down California's statutory ban on same-sex marriage.California Supreme Court Overturns Gay Marriage Ban, New York Times, May 16, 2008
;November 4, 2008
:Proposition Hate passes in California, re-editing the state Constitution to make the ban "constitutional".
;April 3, 2009
:The Iowa Supreme Court required that the state recognize same-sex marriage. (So that's where the good lawyers were when California needed them!)Iowa Supreme Court Overturns Gay-Marriage Ban, Wall Street Journal, April 4, 2009
;April 7, 2009
:Vermont legalized same sex unions.
;April 23, 2009
:Connecticut changed "civil union" language to full marriage, saying "separate is not equal".
;May 5, 2009
:The Washington, D.C. City Council approved a measure recognizing gay couples legally married in other states. Conservative members of Congress swore they would block the Council's will.
;May 6, 2009
:Maine Governor John Baldacci became the first Governor to sign a bill legalizing gay marriage. This was also the first state that did this according to "conservative rules", by going through the legislative process and not the courts. Of course, even though teh gays followed the conservative rules, the conservatives still intended to attempt to reverse it. 
;May 7, 2009
:New Hampshire's General Assembly (the legislature) approved a gay marriage bill, two years after the state legalized civil unions, effective 1/1/2010. Governor Lynch signed it into law shortly after some language indicating that churches would not have to perform them was inserted.
;May 18, 2009
:Washington governor Christine Gregoire signed an "everything but marriage" bill, conferring the same rights and obligations to same-sex couples enjoyed by opposite-sex couples, just without calling it "marriage". Conservatives announced their intent to repeal it by referendum. On November 2, 2009, this referendum was rejected by the state's voters.
;August 4, 2010
:A Federal District Court struck down California Proposition 8, a referendum that banned same-sex marriage (which had been legalized by the legislature and governor) as violating the United States Constitution.
;January 31, 2011
:Illinois governor Pat Quinn signs a bill into law legalizing civil unions for same-sex couples. The law took effect on June 1, 2011.Illinois Law. Illinois Gender Advocates (archived).
;June 24, 2011
:The New York State Legislature approves, and its governor signs, a bill granting marriage equality, with some safeguards against religious institutions being compelled to be involved in same-sex marriages.
;July 2nd, 2011
:In Rhode Island, civil unions are signed into law as marriage in everything but name; however, the bill comes with even more religious exceptions than New York.Chafee signs civil unions legislation. WPRI, July 3, 2011 (archived).
;February 13th, 2012
:Governor Christine Gregoire of Washington signs into law The Marriage Equality Act, legalizing same sex marriage.
;February 17th, 2012
:New Jersey's legislature passed a same-sex marriage bill, but it was vetoed by Governor Chris Christie.Ariosto, David. N.J. governor vetoes same-sex marriage bill. CNN, February 18, 2012.
;March 1, 2012
:Maryland governor Martin O'Malley signed the Civil Marriage Protection Act, set to grant marriage equality on January 1, 2013, subject to popular referendum.
;November 6, 2012
:Maryland voters approve same-sex marriage in the aforementioned referendum, as do voters in Maine and Washington state. All three states become the first in 32 attempts for marriage equality to pass a popular referendum. Minnesota voters reject a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, but a statutory ban still exists.
;June 26, 2013
:The Supreme Court overturned a portion of DOMA on Fifth Amendment grounds,United States v. Windsor, 507 U.S. -- (2013) and let a lower court ruling invalidating California's Proposition 8 on procedural grounds stand.Hollingworth v. Perry, 507 U.S. -- (2013)
;March 21 2014	
:A Federal judge in Michigan overturned the state's law banning marriage equality. People were able to marry for a day until a stay was imposed pending an appeal.
;May 19, 2014
:A federal judge in Oregon ruled the state's ban unconstitutional, and so it became legal.
;May 20, 2014
:A federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled the state's ban unconstitutional, and so it became legal.
;October 6, 2014
:The Supreme Court rejected appeals to hear same-sex marriage cases out of Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, and Wisconsin, immediately legalizing it in all of those states.Margolin, Emma. Marriage equality comes to five more states. MSNBC, October 6, 2014.
;October 11, 2014
:A federal judge in North Carolina ruled a state constitutional amendment unconstitutional, and so it became legal.
;November 6, 2014
:The Federal Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, covering Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, upheld a ban on gay marriage brought before them. This created a "circuit split" in which different circuits have taken different stances on the same issue. Such splits practically compel the Supreme Court to rule on an appeal from these circuits as they are the only body capable of resolving the split.
;January 16, 2015
:The Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal from the 6th Circuit over the gay marriage ban. Arguments were heard the last week of April, with a decision due before the end of the court's session in June.
;June 26, 2015
:The Supreme Court overturned the 6th Circuit decision, striking down all remaining prohibitions on same-sex marriage in the United States. "America thus abandoned marriage. So God might abandon America, if He hasn’t already." (one conservative view)Hurlbut, Terry A. Marriage is no more. Conservative News and Views, June 26, 2015.
;December 13, 2016
:The Cherokee Nation, the second-largest tribal nation in the United States, legalizes same-sex marriage.Cherokee Nation Begins Recognizing Same-Sex Marriages, Noel Gutierrez-Morfin, NBC News 13 December 2016
;August 29, 2019
:Alabama abolishes marriage licenses, eliminating a loophole that allowed judges to deny same-sex couples the right to marry as long as they also denied it to straight couples; as many as eight counties were doing this when this law was passed.Here's how getting married in Alabama will change with no marriage licenses, Brendan Kirby, Fox10 5 June 2019 This eliminated some of the last holdouts who denied gay marriage in the United States, with the only remaining ones being American Samoa and a handful of Native American tribal nations.
;December 13, 2022
:President Joe Biden signs the finally repealing DOMA and codifying Obergefell v. Hodges as well as Loving v. Virginia into federal law. The law requires all non-tribal jurisdictions that perform marriages to recognize same-sex and interracial marriages, which includes American Samoa although they still do not perform same-sex marriages there.What does the Respect for Marriage Act do? The answer will vary by state., Kaitlyn Radde, NPR 8 December 2022
===Limited recognition===
*China has typically been very conservative on this issue and refused to recognize gay marriage, however, by 2020 there have been a few signs that the government may be reconsidering its stance on the issue, including publicly acknowledging a petition to legalize same-sex marriage and allowing a lesbian kiss in the movie Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker to be shown in theaters when usually any traces of homosexuality are censored.Why is China raising the prospect of same-sex marriage?, Eric Baculinao, NBC News 7 January 2020 Currently, they have "mutual guardianship appointments", which can provide limited rights to gay couples.How China is legally recognising same-sex couples, but not empowering them, Xu Chen and Wilfred Yang Mang, The Conversation 1 October 2019
*Hungary began to recognize same-sex registration on July 1, 2009. However, the new constitution passed under the Orbán government explicitly bans same-sex marriage.New Hungarian constitution comes into effect with same-sex marriage ban, Stephen Gray, PinkNews 3 January 2012
*In India, marriage laws can be quite confusing, as Indian law allows citizens to choose which customs apply to them and none of the federal laws explicitly define marriage as being between a man and a woman, but nevertheless, these laws are almost always enforced in a heteronormative way. Only a single same-sex marriage has been fully recognized by the Indian government, when they were able to prove that their marriage fit all the legal requirements for one.Lesbian newlyweds flee honor killing threats in India, Sophia Jones, FP 29 June 2011 A number of federal court cases have been held over the issue in recent years, but progress has been slow.'Nobody Is Dying Because They Don't Have Marriage Certificates' :Centre Opposes Urgent Hearing Of Plea For Same-Sex Marriage Recognition, Shreya Agarwal, LiveLaw.in 24 May 2021
*Israel has recognized marriages granted in other countries since 2006. However, a bill to legalize same sex marriage inside of Israel failed in May 2012. The main reason gay marriages are not legally performed in Israel is that the Supreme Court claim that it is not a fundamental human right.Shaham, Udi. Supreme Court rejects petition to recognize same-sex marriage. The Jerusalem Post, August 31, 2017. A 2018 poll claimed that the majority of Israeli citizens support same-sex marriage.Most Israelis favor same-sex marriage, but half of MKs mum on issue. Times of Israel, June 5, 2018.
*Italy is the last major holdout of recognizing same-sex marriage in Western Europe, though civil unions have been legal since 2016.Italy: Same-Sex Civil Unions Made Possible After Vote, Human Rights Watch 11 May 2016
*Japan conferred all rights of married couples to gay couples married outside of Japan, if one of the partners is a legal citizen or resident of that foreign country on March 27, 2009. So a Japanese couple can't go to Sweden just to get married, but if one of them is a Swede, Japan will recognize the marriage and give them the legal status of marriage for all government-related issues. Some jurisdictions (e.g. Ōsaka) issue "partnership certificates" which allow for shared renting and hospital visitation rights but lack inheritance and parental rights. A court ruling in 2021 ruled Japan's ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional,In Landmark Ruling, Court Says Japan's Ban On Same-Sex Marriage Is Unconstitutional, Rachel Treisman, NPR 17 March 2021 however a 2022 ruling overturned this.Japan court says ban on same-sex marriage is constitutional, NPR 20 June 2022
*A 2023 court ruling in Namibia determined that they must recognize same-sex marriages performed abroad.Supreme Court gives legal status to same-sex marriages, Werner Menges, The Namibian 16 May 2023
===No recognition===
*Iran, where homosexuality is punishable by death, has one of the most unusual systems around gay marriage. Same-sex marriage is of course illegal, but going through gender reassignment surgery is not and is even partially paid for by the government, and a marriage between a trans woman and a cis man would be legal. For this reason, homosexuals have often been pressured to change their gender in Iran, even when they're not trans.The gay people pushed to change their gender, Ali Hamedani, BBC Persian 5 November 2014
*In Nigeria, same-sex marriage is banned by the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act that was passed in 2013, although the law is so incoherent that it has proven difficult to enforce.6 surprising facts about Nigeria’s anti-gay-marriage law, Colin Stewart, 76 Crimes 15 December 2018Nigerian judge throws out case against 47 men facing homosexuality charge, Alexis Akwagyiram, Reuters 27 October 2020 Still, with Nigeria's harsh laws against LGBT people and prevailing social attitudes, it will likely be a while before any real progress is made.
*In Pakistan, gay marriage is illegal. The first two people who tried (allegedly as a joke) were immediately arrested.Pakistani men arrested for exchanging marriage vows, Farhan Bokhari, CBS News 17 June 2015
*In the Philippines, gay marriage is banned despite a majority of the population being supportive of homosexuality.The Global Divide on Homosexuality, Pew Research Center 4 June 2013 At first there was some hope that Rodrigo Duterte of all people might help liberalize the country's laws on gay rights, as he had supported gay marriage on the campaign trail,In the fight for gay marriage in the Philippines, Duterte could be an unlikely ally, Rebecca Tan, Washington Post 19 June 2018 but of course he quickly backtracked.Duterte backs gender equality, not same-sex church or civil marriage - Palace, Darryl John Esguerra, Inquirer.net 5 November 2020 A 2019 Supreme Court ruling reaffirmed the country's ban on same-sex marriage.Philippines: Supreme Court Rules on Same-Sex Marriage, Gustavo Guerra, Library of Congress 24 January 2020
*Poland has in recent years become one of the most fervent opponents of gay marriage, with it and Hungary being the main reasons why the European Union can't really do anything to push for LGBTQ+ rights.Poland will not let EU 'force' it into allowing gay marriages, says justice minister, Marcin Goclowski, Reuters 20 July 2020
*In Russia, thanks to a certain homophobe, gay marriage is constitutionally banned.Russia Outlaws Same-Sex Marriage, Bans Trans People From Adopting, Nico Lang, them 7 April 2021
*Saudi Arabia still does not recognize same-sex marriage. Actually, same-sex sex is a capital crime there.Saudi Arabia: The situation of homosexuals, including treatment by authorities and legal penalties, RefWorld, August 16, 2002
*South Korea still doesn't recognize gay marriage or even civil unions, and there are currently few signs of improvement in that regard, with an expanded definition of families passed in 2021 even explicitly excluding homosexuals.Same-Sex Couples Excluded from South Korea's New Definition of Families, Jason Strother, VOA 1 February 2021
*In Ukraine, same-sex marriage is explicitly banned by the constitution, which defines marriage as a union of a woman and a man, since its adoption in 1996.Ukrainian constitution (PDF, see article 51). Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he couldn't change the constitution in the middle of an ongoing war, but his government will look into recognizing same-sex civil partnerships.Zelensky opens door to same-sex civil partnerships in Ukraine, Rob Picheta, Vasco Cotovio and Olga Voitovych, CNN 3 August 2022
*Vietnam allows people to hold same-sex weddings, but they receive no recognition from the federal government.Same-sex weddings officially permitted in Vietnam, Vietnamnet 13 November 2013
==Same-sex marriage resistance==
Same-sex marriage resistance is when a civil servant refuses to execute his or her duties regarding same-sex marriage.
===Netherlands===
Since the instigation of same-sex marriage in 2001, civil servants have been able to refuse to marry same-sex couples in the Netherlands, but every municipality was required to guarantee that same-sex couples were able to marry. In 2012 there were a total of 88 servants working in 48 counties who refused to issue licenses.Voorlichting Raad van State inzake gewetensbezwaarde trouwambtenaren. Rijksoverheid (archived).
This has always been a controversial issue and heated debate flared up in 2007 and 2009. Since November 1st, 2014, all new civil servants are required to marry same-sex couples, although civil servants hired before this date can still refuse.Vanaf 1/11 geen nieuwe weigerambtenaar meer. coc.nl.
===United States===
Kim Davis was the county clerk of Rowan County, Kentucky (population: 23,655+) She became a martyr for the Christian right for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples following the US Supreme Court's 2015 Obergefell v. Hodges decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.Kentucky Clerk Denies Same-Sex Marriage Licenses, Defying Court. New York Times, September 2, 2015.Bobic, Igor. Kentucky Clerk Refuses To Issue Marriage License To Gay Couples In Heated Exchange. Huffington Post, September 1, 2015.Higdon, James; Larimer, Sarah and Somashekhar, Sandhya. Kentucky clerk ordered to court after refusing to issue gay-marriage licenses. Washington Post, September 2, 2015.
Davis decided she simply could not sleep with herself at night if she allowed the local homos to get married. After a court order, a lawsuit, and being jailed for five days in contempt of court, she was released after her deputies agreed to begin issuing marriage licenses to all eligible couples, in compliance with the Supreme Court's decision, on the condition that she not interfere with the issuance of such licenses. Davis subsequently removed all mention of her county, her name, and the signature line from forms issued only to homosexual couples, thus interfering with the issuing of valid marriage licenses.
She is no longer a Democrat. She has switched to the Republican Party, repeating history. She is represented by Matt Staver, spokesbigot for Liberty Counsel.Beamon, Todd. Kim Davis' Attorneys Argue Against Penalties in Lawsuit Brought by ACLU. Newsmax, October 13, 2015.
In an ironic twist, David Ernold, the gay man who was denied a marriage license by her, took it upon himself to run against her in the then-upcoming election.Kim Davis Denied Him a Marriage License. He’s Running to Replace Her. New York Times, December 8, 2017. She was voted out of office in favor of Elwood Caudill Jr. (Democrat) on 6 November, 2018, after David Ermold lost the primary to him in May 2018.Gstalter, Morgan. Anti-gay marriage country clerk Kim Davis loses reelection in Kentucky. The Hill, November 6, 2018.Gajanan, Mahita. Gay Man Denied Marriage License by Kim Davis Loses Bid to Challenge Her for Kentucky County Clerkship. Time, May 22, 2018.
In 2023, a federal judge ruled that Davis must pay $260,104 in legal fees for the couple that sued her in addition to a $100,000 penalty.Kim Davis must pay $260,000 legal fees over same-sex marriage license refusal: Former county clerk had disputed lawyers’ fees for Kentucky couple who won $100,000 damages (2 Jan 2024 13.10 EST) Associated Press via The Guardian.
Another instance of this happening was in Alabama. Couples needed marriage licenses in order to be married, but the law only said that probate judges "may" give out marriage licenses, which resulted in many probate judges refusing to hand out marriage licenses at all just so they didn't have to give out licenses to same-sex couples. In 2019, Alabama finally abolished this loophole.Alabama lawmakers pass bill to end marriage licenses, Mike Cason, AL.com 23 May 2019
==Religious views==
Many major religious denominations are opposed to gay marriage, but some have decided that God's love includes LGBT people. This has particular relevance for LGBT+ people of religion wishing to marry in church/temple/etc, but can have an influence on wider society. This lists those which offer genuine marriage equality, while shitty compromises are in a separate section.
===In favor===
* US Episcopal Church, a branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion; after varying permissions across states, it allowed same-sex marriage across the church in 2018.Episcopal Church says all same-sex couples can now marry in their home churches, The Tennessean, July 13, 2018
* Scottish Episcopal Church, a branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, since 2017.Church votes to allow Equal Marriage, Scottish Episcopal Church, June 8, 2017
* Church of Scotland, but only those ministers who approve, since 2022.Same-sex marriage, Church of Scotland, 2022
* The Methodist Church in England and Wales decided in favor in 2021.https://www.methodist.org.uk/about-us/the-methodist-church/marriage-and-relationships/frequently-asked-questions-following-the-2021-conference-votes-on-marriage-and-relationships/, Methodist Church
* Liberal Judaism in the UK supports marriage regardless of gender.Marriage & Mixed Faith Blessings FAQ, Liberal Judaism (UK)
* Among members of the Religious Society of Friends, both Friends of Britain Yearly Meeting and Ireland Yearly Meeting support same-sex marriage. In fact, both Yearly Meetings campaigned for legalisation of same sex marriage in both the UK and Ireland. A testimony of divine grace: Quakers and same-sex marriage
===Against===
* Roman Catholicism. It has also rejected attempts by liberal clergy to bless same-sex civil unions.Catholic Church 'cannot bless same-sex unions', BBC, March 15, 2021
* Russian Orthodox church.Russian Church backs Vatican on same-sex blessings, The Tablet, April 2, 2021
* Church of England and many other sub-churches of the worldwide Anglican Communion.Justin Welby forced to allow Anglican bishops to reject statement on sexuality, The Guardian, July 26, 2022
* Southern Baptist Convention.Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ Issues: Southern Baptist Convention, Human Rights Campaign
* Most branches of Orthodox Judaism are firmly opposed.Stances of Faiths on LGBTQ Issues: Orthodox Judaism, Human Rights Campaign However, some Orthodox rabbis differ.Small but growing number of US Orthodox rabbis officiating same-sex weddings, Times of Israel, Nov 16, 2020
===Half-assed===
* The Church in Wales, a branch of the worldwide Anglican Communion, will not marry LGBT people but will bless civil marriages and civil unions.Same-sex marriage, The Church in Wales, accessed July 26, 2022
* In Reform Judaism, the Central Conference of American Rabbis accepts civil same-sex marriage but won't perform religious same-sex marriage.
==See also==
* California Proposition 8
* Civil union
* Gay rights
* Moral panic
* God, guns and gays
===Court cases===
* Lawrence v. Texas
* Romer v. Evans
* Perry v. Schwarzenegger
==External links==
*An overview of the same-sex marriage debate
*Same Love
==Notes==
==References==
Category:Culture
Category:Homosexuality
Category:Law
Category:LGBT rights
Category:Moral panics