Same gender romance and marriage

The legal debate that is rocking the romance world

Same-gender marriage is marriage between two people who are of the same characteristic gender. Other terms include "gay marriage," "homosexual marriage," "same-gender marriage," "gender-neutral marriage," and "equal marriage."

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, opposing efforts to legalize or ban same-gender civil marriage made it a topic of debate all over the world. At present, same-gender marriages are recognized in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, and Canada, and the U.S. state of Massachusetts. On 1 December, 2005, South Africa’s Constitutional Court extended marriage to include same-gender couples which will go into effect by December 2008 .

Civil unions, domestic partnerships, and other legal recognitions of same-gender couples which offer varying amounts of benefits attached to marriage are available in: Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the Australian Capital Territory and the states of New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, and Western Australia, and the U.S. states of California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey, Vermont, and the District of Columbia.

Many proponents of same-gender marriage use the term "equal marriage" and some argue that the correct term is simply "marriage" since that's how opposite-gender marriage is presented. Opponents argue that equating same-gender and mixed-gender marriage changes the meaning of marriage and its traditions. Some opponents use the term "homosexual marriage." Surveys have suggested that the word "homosexual" is more stigmatizing than the word "gay." Some publications that oppose same-gender marriage put the word "marriage" in quotes when refering to it. Notable publications that practice this are The Washington Times and LifeSite. Cliff Kincaid, a writer for the conservative-based media watchdog group Accuracy in Media, agrees with this method arguing that "marriage" is a word that same-gender couples merely want to apply to themselves, but have no legal ability to do so in most states. Gay rights supporters argue that it's editorializing and implying inferiority, and point out that it's used when referring to same-gender marriages in countries where's it's legal.

Some have suggested abolishing the word "marriage" (or reserving it to a religious context) and refering to the civil and legal aspects of all marriages as civil unions. Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz, for instance, wrote in a 2003 editorial in the Los Angeles Times that such an arrangement would "strengthen the wall of separation between church and state by placing a sacred institution entirely in the hands of the church while placing a secular institution under state control."  Conservative critics like National Review's Jennifer Morse contend that the conflation of marriage with contractual agreements is itself a threat to marriage that "has undermined more heterosexual marriages than anything, with the possible exception of adultery."

The terms "gay marriage," "straight marriage," and all others implying sexual orientation, although popular with the media, are viewed by some as inaccurate. They claim that sexual orientation has rarely been a legal or religious qualification for marriage (a gay man could still marry a woman). Rather, the relevant qualification is the characteristic sexes of the parties to the marriage.