Where can you get married if you are gay?
December 17, 2009 at 10:25 am | Gay Dating Articles | No comment
So you’ve met the love of your life on a gay dating site, you’ve met the parents, you’ve moved in together so the natural step for most couples would be to get married. But there are so many laws around the world prohibiting gay marriage, where are same sex couples allowed to be married?
It was in Europe where the first law was passed to allow gay or same sex couples to marry. In 1989, Denmark was the first country to permit same sex couples to marry, although not in a church. However, it took a while for other countries to cotton onto the idea. In Germany for example, same sex couples can register to be ‘life partners’, which entitles them to the same benefits and rights as heterosexual married couples but they do not undertake a formal ceremony.
In Spain, against the opposition from the Roman Catholic Church, the government legalised full marriage rights for gay couples in June 2005 and they are now allowed to adopt children.
Whereas in Britain, legislation passed in December 2005 gave same-sex couples in registered partnerships similar rights to married couples – in areas such as pensions, property, social security, and housing.
Even in countries such as South Africa, where homosexuality is a taboo subject within some African societies, they have a very liberal attitude when it comes to gay rights. The post-apartheid constitution included a clause which made it illegal to discriminate based upon an individual’s sexual identity. In December 2005 South Africa’s high court said it was unconstitutional to deny gay people the right to marry, and instructed parliament to amend marriage laws to include same-sex unions within a year. Homosexual couples are also allowed to adopt in South Africa.
However, there are still countries across the world that will not permit gay marriage. Recently in Australia, gay activists staged a protest against the Labour Party who voted against changing the current ban on gay marriage. 400 delegates rejected changes to the party’s policy on gay marriage, despite declaring strong opposition to discrimination against gay and lesbian people.
There were protests in most major cities across the country with the largest taking place in Sydney. Approximately 2,000 people marched on the Labour Party’s national policy-making conference in Sydney, chanting “gay, straight, black or white, marriage is a civil right”. Most were dressed in veils, tiaras and other wedding attire to ensure that their message was received loud and clear. They accused the Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of being swayed by the Church. Rudd who has always openly discussed that he is a church going Christian, has opposed same sex marriages. Rudd vowed when he came to power in 2007 that he would continue to ensure that marriage in Australia remained between a man and a woman.
In stark contrast to this, the Quakers, a Christian denomination, have approved marriages for homosexuals. This was welcomed by gay Christian groups stating it had been a ‘campaign for justice and equality’. The Quakers at their annual meeting agreed to treat same-sex, committed relationships in the same way as opposite-sex marriages, reaffirming our central insight that marriage is the Lord’s work and we are but witnesses’. This ruling however, only represents the views and opinions of Quakers in England and not necessarily that of Quakers worldwide.
The issue of same sex or gay marriages is a topic which is always on the political agenda, especially in the USA and played a large role in the re-election of George W Bush in 2004. States in the USA are permitted to choose for themselves whether they want to allow same sex marriages and this largely depends upon the political make up of the individual sate. Massachusetts was the first state to issue marriage licenses to gay dating couples in May 2004.
As the subject of gay marriages becomes more widely accepted, we’re likely to see more appropriate policy changes in its favour across the world over the next few years.