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Massachusetts has ruled that same-sex couples are legally entitled to marry
(BBC NEWS, November 18, 2003)
Massachusetts could become the first state to recognise gay marriage. . . . Gay marriage is banned in the US, but one state, Vermont, has enacted a law which gives same-sex couples the rights of traditional marriages. . . . The Massachusetts court ruled that barring same-sex couples from the benefits of civil marriage was "unconstitutional." . . . "Marriage is a vital social institution. The exclusive commitment of two individuals to each other nurtures love and mutual support. It brings stability to our society," Chief Justice Margaret Marshall wrote in the long-awaited ruling. . . . The 4-3 ruling means the issue will now return to the state legislature, which has 180 days to come up with a solution. . . . In 2000, Vermont's state legislature approved civil unions for same-sex couples, giving them many of the same legal benefits of married couples. . . . Conservative groups and politicians opposed to homosexuality have been pressing for a constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriages outright. . . . The bill, which has 96 sponsors in the House of Representatives, seeks to enshrine marriage as a union exclusively between one man and one woman, and would make same-sex unions a legal impossibility. . . . President George Bush does not believe in gay marriage . . . Earlier this year, the US Supreme Court overturned a ban on sodomy in Texas, essentially making it illegal for any state legislature to outlaw gay sex. . . . In November, the country's first openly gay bishop was formally consecrated in New Hampshire. . . . Gay marriages are legal in neighbouring Canada, as well as in Belgium and the Netherlands.

posted by Lorenzo 11:48 AM