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Same-Sex Marriage
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 The
Case For Same Sex Marriage by William N. Eskridge, Jr.
Excerpt:
Notwithstanding acceptance of same-sex unions in Greece, Rome,
and even the medieval Church, modern Western culture is peculiarly hostile
toward same-sex unions. The most critical point in the West's attitudes
toward same-sex unions or marriages can be located in the thirteenth
century.63 It was then that many secular governments enacted their first
laws prohibiting "crimes against nature" and that prior
ecclesiastical laws came to be more stringently enforced. The Church took
a stronger stand against same-sex intimacy. Leading scholastic thinkers
Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas systematized theological arguments
against such behavior. In contrast to the relatively open and tolerant
attitudes expressed during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Europe
after 1200 acted in an increasingly persecutory manner toward any kind of
behavior that transgressed established gender lines, including not just
same-sex intimacy but also aggressive, independent behavior by women such
as cross-dressing...
Site Includes excerpts from:
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Buddy Buddy
National organization supports long-term commitments by gay and lesbian couples. Includes surveys and legal-marriage data.
Site Includes:
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Benjamin Cable-McCarthy made International news
in his attempt to legally marry his Filipino "Husband"
in 1993. They took their case from the Court of appeals to the
California Supreme Court where they were denied review. Feeling it
was better to give up the battle than to loose the war, Benjamin
and Marcial did not forward the case to the United States Supreme
Court. "So far we have not received a negative ruling from
the courts. We were only denied review. If the higher court rules
against gay and lesbian marriage we ruin it for all, including the
ongoing case in Hawaii. We do not contend defeat but have to
embrace patience", Benjamin Cable McCarthy.
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Partnerships and Same Sex Marriages
Carnegie Mellon University Information
Links to debates on same-sex marriage, domestic partnerships and gay adoption. Focuses on laws and court cases.
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A personal essay in hypertext by Scott Bidstrup.
Excerpt:
Ask just about anyone. They'll all tell you
they're in favor of equal rights for homosexuals. Just name the
situation, and ask. They'll all say, yes, gays should have the
same rights in housing, jobs, public accommodations, and should
have equal access to government benefits, equal protection of the
law, etcetera, etcetera.
Then you get to gay marriage.
And that's when all this talk of equality stops
dead cold...
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The Hawaii Gay Marriage Bureau provides a
registration, referral and informational forum for those
interested in same-sex marriage registration, marriage
certificates, related services and updates on the legal front.
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The Hawaii
Same Sex Marriage Issue
From www.hawaiilawyers.com. Few
issues in Hawaii legal history have been as controversial as the Same Sex
Marriage Issue.
As a service to readers, we present this information
as a resource; the facts and opinions expressed in these pages and in the
linked sites are not necessarily those of Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert.
The firm takes no position on the issue, pro or con -- this page is only
to provide a resource to locate pertinent information.
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by Paul Halsall
Excerpt:
...With or without the law, same-sex couples
have been going ahead and celebrating public ceremonies of
commitment for many years now, although the number of such
ceremonies seems to be have been increasing recently...
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NOW -- Same Sex
Marriage
The National Organization for Women offers an overview of the legal issues surrounding same-sex marriage. Find out how to help the group's efforts promoting lesbian rights.
Attacks on same-sex marriage have become the leading anti-lesbian and
gay strategy of the radical
right. Despite a recent study showing 71 percent of lesbians are in
committed relationships, same-sex marriage is not legal in any state.
Nevertheless, radical extremists are using this issue to divide the
country and target lesbians and gay men for discrimination. Organized
opposition to this gratuitous lesbian and gay bashing is essential to stop
religious political extremists from advancing their hate-filled agenda.
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From Rutgers University, the State
University of New Jersey, School of Law, Newark, Justice Henry
Ackerson Library, Pathfinder Series.
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The Queer Wedding Webring was created to
celebrate the Weddings, Unions and Commitment Ceremonies of
Lesbian and Gay couples.
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Rainbow Law was founded by an
attorney and an RN who both know first hand what protections are
needed in legal and in medical settings. Our web site was created to
reach out to as many lesbians and gay men as possible in order to
provide them with access to legal information and documents that are
necessary to protect same-sex relationships in case of death,
disability or break-up. We describe and demystify documents like the
Living Revocable Trust, Living Will, Durable Powers of Attorney and
Living Together Agreement, to name a few. We tell you in plain
English how these documents protect us and why lesbians and gay men
need them. To emphasize our commitment to the LGBT community, we
provide the same documents, inexpensively, and offer a sliding scale
fee. And Rainbow Law documents are legal in all 50 states. Until our
government grants us equal rights in our relationships, Rainbow Law
is determined to see that every lesbian and gay man is empowered by
legal information and protection. In addition to the web site, we
offer free workshops throughout the country and are in the process
of writing a book based on the workshop. Especially now, during this
time of crisis and uncertainty, we need to get our wishes in
writing. Until we do, although we are partners in love and in life,
we are legal strangers in the eyes of the law.
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| Registered
Partnership, Domestic Partnership, and Marriage
A worldwide summary compiled by IGLHRC
in November, 1998.
Excerpt:
Several nations and dozens of provincial and municipal governments
around the world have enacted legislation to protect sexual minorities
from discrimination in employment, housing, access to services, and other
areas of public life. Only Denmark (including Greenland), Norway, Sweden, The Netherlands,
Hungary, and Iceland
have enacted nationwide legislation aimed at reducing such discrimination
in relation to marriage, and even in these nations some forms of
discrimination remain codified in the law...
There is much
more on this fact sheet.
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Now There Is A New Way To Tie The Knot --
limited liability companies, "LLCs", may prove to be the
new marriage model. Marriage is presently available only to one
man and one woman. LLCs are available to everyone, couples (of any
sexual mix) who wish to pursue life together, a single parent
family and groups of friends. Marriage is based on family law,
limited liability companies are based on partnership law and the
legal arrangement its "members" agree to...
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ReligiousTolerance.org
Provides an overview of the history, current legal situation and recent developments in same-sex marriage laws. Find numerous related links.
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"Two people of the same sex may lawfully marry
in California."
Those are the opening words of a proposed
amendment to the California Constitution that our campaign intends
to place on the November 2002 ballot. If adopted by the voters,
the proposed Same-Sex Marriage Initiative will make California the
first place in America to allow same-sex couples to share the
rights and responsibilities of marriage.
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Holy Unions, Ceremonies of Commitment, Gay and Lesbian Marriage.
This site, maintained by Baptiste
Coulmont, offers information for the Episcopal Church,
Catholic, Metropolitan Community Churches, United Methodist and
more.
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