Samesex Marriage

Legal Differences of Gay Marriage

We all know what marriage is. Normally if you love someone, you have the right to marry him or her. Marriage is more than this, however. It is a legal status, and marriage gives couples certain rights, privileges and responsibilities. Many people in the gay community have been trying to obtain these rights. Some states have created the legal equivalent to marriage, called a civil union. Although this is kind of like gay marriage, many differences set it apart from a normal heterosexual marriage.

Like a legal marriage, a civil union accepts a couple’s rights and responsibilities under state law. A gay couple has the ability to file joint state tax returns, and a partner has the right to inherit any property from a deceased spouse. Additionally, same sex couples have the same type of legal proceedings as a married couple, such as annulments, divorces, and court proceedings dealing with children. Although there are many ways that make it like a legal marriage, a civil union still separates gay couples from the rest of the United States.

When this is said, it means that a gay couple will not be recognized in other states where civil unions are not legal. For example, healthcare programs may not recognize couples that have taken part in civil unions. They are not entitled to rights that are governed by the federal law. Although they have rights in their state, the federal government will not recognize them as a married couple. This means they do not have the right to receive social security benefits, and they cannot file joint federal tax returns.

In 1997, the General Accounting Office released 1,049 Benefits and Protections Available to Heterosexual Married Couples. Obviously, legal married couples have the right to these benefits. While civil unions allow some of these benefits and protections to gay couples, they do not have the right to all of them.

History of Same Sex Marriage in the U.S.

In the United States, same sex marriage is a controversial topic and is defined as a legal union between two people of the same sex. In 1996, the U.S. Congress, under President Bill Clinton, passed the Defense of Marriage Act, which states that the federal government views marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Therefore, the national government cannot legally recognize same sex marriage. Individual states, districts, and tribes may recognize gay marriage, however. As of 2010, five U.S. states and Washington D.C. grant same sex marriages. One Native American tribe, the Coquille tribe of Oregon, allows same sex marriage as well.

Public support of same sex marriage first emerged during the 1970s, but it wasn’t until after the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996 that any legal changes occurred. Same sex marriage became legal in Massachusetts in 2003, Connecticut in 2008, Iowa and Vermont in 2009, and New Hampshire and Washington D.C. in 2010. Three states—Maryland, Rhode Island, and New York—recognize same sex marriages but don’t allow them to be performed in the state. Thirty states have outright banned same sex marriage in their constitution.

In California, a Supreme Court decision in May 2008 ruled that disallowing same sex marriage violated the state’s constitution. However, later the same year, Proposition 8 on Election Day overturned that decision. The state does continue to recognize the 18,000 same sex marriages that took place during 2008.