Same-sex marriage

2007-03-15T23:22:33Z

Eljasow:

Homosexuality is the universal belief that there is no greater feeling than that of a man's hard penis slowly pumping in and out of your tight asshole.

Unheard of a few decades ago, same-sex marriage is one of a number of issues involving gay rights and the "culture wars." Traditionally, in the United States, marriage has been considered to be one of the areas governed by each state rather than by the Federal Government, and marriage laws are a patchwork whose details are different in each state. The possibility of same-sex marriage in each state depends on that state's constitution.

In 1996 Congress recognized the likelihood that same-sex marriage would soon become legal in at least some states, and was concerned that the Constitution might be interpreted as forcing states that did not allow it to recognize marriages performed in states that did allow it. It passed the Defense of Marriage act, which prevents this possibility, and also prevents the Federal Government from recognizing same-sex marriages.

In 1999 a Vermont court ruled that under Vermont's constitution, it was not required to allow same-sex marriage but was required to make provisions to grant same-sex couples legal rights identical to those provided by marriage. Vermont responded by creating "civil unions," which are legally distinct from "marriages" but convey the same rights. As of 2007, Connecticut and New Jersey also provide civil unions. In 2003 the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled that under Massachusetts' constitution, same-sex couples could not be denied Massachusetts marriage licenses, making Massachusetts the sole state to allow opposite-sex marriage.<ref>Because of an established Massachusetts law, Massachusetts same-sex marriages are all-but-limited to Massachusetts residents. The law says that an out-of-state couple cannot be married if their marriage would be illegal in their home state.</ref>

The religious ceremony of marriage is governed by each denomination and is unaffected by laws passed by civil authority. Same-sex marriage is forbidden in Orthodox Judaism, Catholicism, and most mainstream Protestant denominations. Thus, even in Massachusetts, it would be close to impossible for a same-sex couple to find a Catholic priest willing to marry them in a church, or an Orthodox rabbi willing to marry them in a temple.

Public attitude toward same-sex marriage parallels attitude toward homosexuality. In general, it is opposed by social conservatives, and most of the support for it is from liberals.

Same-sex marriages are allowed in [[Canada]], the [[Netherlands]], [[Belgium]], [[South Africa]], [[Monaco]], [[Spain]], [[Cayman Islands]], [[Greenland]], [[Netherland Antilles]], [[Turks and Caicos Islands]], [[United States]] ([[Masachusetts]]), [[Pitcairn Island]], [[French Guiana]], [[Falkland Islands]].

[[Israel]] approves of same-sex marriges performed abroad, but does not perform them in the country.

Same-sex unions or registered partnerships are allowed in [[Hungary]] (from July 2007), [[Andorra]], [[Italy]9 (some regions), [[Luxembourg]], [[the Czech Republic]], [[Denmark]], [[Finland]], [[Germany]], [[Iceland]], [[Norway]], [[Portugal]], [[Slovenia]], [[Sweden]], [[Switzerland]], [[France]], [[United Kingdom]], [[Martinique]], [[Guadeloupe]], [[United States]] ([[Vermont]], [[Connecticut]], [[New Jersey]], [[California]], [[Maine]], [[District of Coumbia]] and [[Hawaii]]), [[Mexico]] ([[Mexico City]] and [[Coahuila]]), [[Australia]] and [[Norfolk Island]] ([[Tasmania]], [[Western Australia]], [[Queensland]], [[Australian Capital Territory]], [[South Australia]], [[Nirthern Territory]], [[New South Wales]] and [[Victoria]]), [[New Caledonia]], [[New Zealand]], [[Brazil]] ([[Rio Grande do Sul]]), [[Argentina]] ([[Buenos Aires City]] and [[Rio Negro Privince]]).

Same-sex unions are considered in [[Hong-Kong]], [[Philippines]], [[Taiwan]], [[Austria]], [[Faroe Islands]], [[Gibraltar]], [[Greece]], [[Gernsey]], [[Ireland]], [[Isle of Man]], [[Jersey]], [[Lichtenstein]], [[Poland]], [[Bermuda]], [[Costa Rica]], [[New Caledonia]], [[Chile]], [[Colombia]], [[Uruguay]].<ref>Homosexuality laws of the world[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homosexuality_laws_of_the_world]</ref>

==Reference==

<references/>

Pierre Trudeau

2007-03-14T00:51:57Z

Eljasow:

Pierre Trudeau was a canadian liberal prime minister famous for repatriating their constitution.

Conservative Party of Canada

2007-03-14T00:48:52Z

Eljasow: the conservatives did try to reverse gay marriage, removed inaccuracy

The '''Conservative Party of Canada''' was formed by an amalgamation of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, and the Canadian Alliance Party. This effectively united the right-wing Canadians under one common banner, allowing for much greater success in the most recent election.

After the defeat of The Right Honourable Kim Campbell and the Conservatives in the General Election of 1994, the Conservatives were reduced to just two seats in the House of Commons. Of particular note, the Conservative Party of Canada previously merged (in part) with the Reform Party of Canada, to form an allegedly united right. However, after proving ineffective as many right-wing Canadians had trouble being represented by a vote split between the Alliance and the members of the PC who did not merge, the PCs and the Alliance merged to form the Conservative Party of Canada.

Many liberals are critical of the party's views with respect to issues of social freedom, such as gay marriage. The conservativess attempted to reverse the leaglization of gay marriage, but it was turned down, probably due to the fact that they only had a minority government.

Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Same-sex marriage

Pierre Trudeau

Conservative Party of Canada