Latest Gay Marriage News
The legal right for members of the same gender to marry has become one of the defining socio-political issues of the early 21st century in the United States, and been the subject of contentious debates elsewhere in the world as well.
At least 10 countries - including Argentina, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Belgium and South Africa - have legalized same-sex marriage. At least 20 other countries recognize or perform civil unions - a status that typically confers most or all of the legal rights and privileges of marriage without deeming the union to be a true marriage.
In the U.S., five states - Connecticut Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont - and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage and several others either allow civil unions or legally recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere.
Proponents of same-sex marriage say that gay couples deserve equal treatment under the law (a right protected in the U.S. Constitution) including the financial benefits of marriage in the eyes of the law and rights like hospital visitation and next-of-kin status. They also assert that the denial of the right to marry stigmatizes homosexuality, potentially contributing to anti-gay bigotry and crime and metal health issues among gay people.
Opponents say that the word "marriage" is intrinsically defined as comprising a relationship involving one man and one woman, that it is a religious institution that can be policed by each religion, and - in the case of extreme opponents - that it is immoral or sinful and results in non-functional, corrupting families.
That division of opinion has been evident in the passage and subsequent legal wrangling over Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative restricting marriage to heterosexual couples. The campaigning on both sides of Prop 8 was some of the most expensive and contentious in state history.
In August, 2010 a federal judge overturned the law on Constitutional grounds, but left enforcement of the ruling on hold pending the appeals process.
- Play CBS Video Same-Sex Marriages Legalized
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Play CBS Video Same Sex Marriage Ban
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Play CBS Video Cheney On Same-Sex Marriage
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Play CBS Video Same-Sex Marriage Issue
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Play CBS Video Same-Sex Marriage Debate
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Play CBS Video California Okays Same Sex Marriage
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Play CBS Video Same Sex Marriages Legal In Conn.
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Play CBS Video Notebook: Same-Sex Marriage
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Play CBS Video Victory For Same-Sex Marriage
- Md. high court to hear same-sex divorce case
Lesbian couple married in Calif. were denied divorce in Md. because state does not allow same-sex weddings
- Court: Denial of same-sex benefits discriminatory
The government's denial of insurance benefits to married gay couples discriminates, federal judge rules
- Married gay couples sue feds for green cards
Several gay couples with binational spouses sue feds over Defense of Marriage Act because they cannot apply for green cards
- Gay marriage foes sought to split gays, blacks
Memo from the National Organization of Marriage details national strategy to pit gays against blacks in marriage debate
- Pope denounces gay marriage lobby to US bishops
Benedict tells visiting bishops to preach chastity and denounces "powerful" gay marriage lobby in U.S.
Advocates Marched in Washington to Demand that President Obama Keep His Promises to the Gay Community
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At Parades In New York And San Francisco, Attendees Show Their Pride
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A Look at Some of the Broadcast and Cable Shows That Feature LGBT Characters
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