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Same Sex Marriage

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

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

On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples is unconstitutional. The ruling is not to take effect for 30 days, when county clerks could begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Citing a 1948 California Supreme Court...