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The Federal Republic of Today in History

17th May 2004 (18 years ago): The first legal same-sex marriages in the U.S. are performed in the state of Massachusetts

Marcia Kadish, 56, and Tanya McCloskey, 52, of Malden, Massachusetts, marry at Cambridge City Hall in Massachusetts, becoming the first legally married same-sex partners in the United States. Over the course of the day, 77 other same-sex couples tied the knot across the state, and hundreds more applied for marriage licenses. The day was characterized by much celebration and only a few of the expected protests materialized.

On 18 November 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court found the state’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, ruling that the state could not deny the protections, benefits and obligations conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry. The decision cited the state constitution’s ban on the creation of second-class citizens. The court then gave the state 180 days in which to change the law. Efforts by some legislators to introduce an amendment to the state’s constitution banning same-sex marriage, but recognizing civil unions, were defeated.

Same-sex marriage became legal in all 50 states on 26 June 2015, after the Supreme Court ruled in Obergefell v. Hodges that states must issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.

There are records of marriage between people of the same sex dating back to the first century. In the modern era, marriage equality for same-sex couples was first legally acknowledged in the Netherlands on 1 April 2001, after royal assent was given by Queen Beatrix.

As of 2022, marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 30 countries (nationwide or in some jurisdictions) with the most recent being Chile in March 2022, and Switzerland starting 1 July 2022. Adoption rights are not necessarily covered, though most states with same-sex marriage allow those couples to jointly adopt. In contrast, 34 countries (as of 2021) have definitions of marriage in their constitutions that prevent marriage between couples of the same sex, most enacted in recent decades as a preventative measure. Some other countries have constitutionally mandated Islamic law, which is generally interpreted as prohibiting marriage between same-sex couples. In six of the former and most of the latter, homosexuality itself is criminalized.

The application of marriage law equally to same-sex and opposite-sex couples (called marriage equality) has varied by jurisdiction, and has come about through legislative change to marriage law, court rulings based on constitutional guarantees of equality, recognition that marriage of same-sex couples is allowed by existing marriage law, and by direct popular vote (via referendums and initiatives). The recognition of same-sex marriage is considered to be a human right and a civil right as well as a political, social, and religious issue. The most prominent supporters of same-sex marriage are human rights and civil rights organizations as well as the medical and scientific communities, while the most prominent opponents are religious fundamentalist groups. Polls consistently show continually rising support for the recognition of same-sex marriage in all developed democracies and in some developing democracies.

Scientific studies show that the financial, psychological, and physical well-being of gay people are enhanced by marriage, and that the children of same-sex parents benefit from being raised by married same-sex couples within a marital union that is recognized by law and supported by societal institutions. Social science research indicates that the exclusion of homosexuals from marriage stigmatizes and invites public discrimination against them, with research also repudiating the notion that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon restricting marriage to heterosexuals. Same-sex marriage can provide those in committed same-sex relationships with relevant government services and make financial demands on them comparable to that required of those in opposite-sex marriages, and also gives them legal protections such as inheritance and hospital visitation rights. Opposition to same-sex marriage is based on claims such as that homosexuality is unnatural and abnormal, that children are better off when raised by opposite-sex couples, that same-sex couples cannot procreate, and that the recognition of same-sex unions will promote homosexuality in society. The former two claims are refuted by scientific studies, which show that homosexuality is a natural and normal variation in human sexuality, and that sexual orientation is not a choice. Many studies have shown that children of same-sex couples fare just as well as the children of opposite-sex couples; some studies have shown benefits to being raised by same-sex couples.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/27/Wedding_in_New_Orleans%2C_November_11%2C_2017.jpg/2560px-Wedding_in_New_Orleans%2C_November_11%2C_2017.jpg

Two men marry, surrounded by wedding party, in New Orleans, United States on 11 November 2017.
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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/New_York_City_Proposition_8_Protest_outside_LDS_temple_20.jpg

Many advocates, such as this November 2008 protester at a demonstration in New York City against California Proposition 8, reject the notion of civil unions, describing them as inferior to the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-legal-same-sex-marriage-performed-in-massachusetts

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage

Athanes Empire, My Nation, Sulivannia, Gufand, and 2 othersPhoenexium, and The republic of falmart

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