Recognized
117-674: A civil union (also known as a civil partnership ) is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage , created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples . Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage (with child adoption being a common exception, and the title itself). Civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in several, mostly developed , countries in order to provide legal recognition of relationships formed by unmarried same-sex couples and to afford them rights, benefits, tax breaks, and responsibilities similar or identical to those of legally married couples. In 1989, Denmark
234-499: A New York Times review of Why Marriage Matters , author William Saletan states what he sees as flaws in Wolfson's reasoning. "[His] abstract theory of equality flattens ... distinction. ... Thus he demands protection of committed gay couples not because they resemble heterosexual couples in all relevant respects but because it's wrong to discriminate against people because of their 'differences'." Wolfson does not favor
351-520: A common-law marriage , which affords "most" of the rights of marriage. The following is a list of countries and other jurisdictions which have established civil unions for same-sex couples or opposite-sex couples, categorized by continent, with the year in which the law establishing civil unions in the listed country or other jurisdiction came into effect in brackets: Several countries used to offer civil unions only for same-sex couples. The laws that allowed civil unions were repealed when same-sex marriage
468-706: A learned borrowing from Latin mātrimōnium , which is derived from māter ' mother ' with the suffix -mōnium for an action, state, or condition. Anthropologists have proposed several competing definitions of marriage in an attempt to encompass the wide variety of marital practices observed across cultures. Even within Western culture , "definitions of marriage have careened from one extreme to another and everywhere in between" (as Evan Gerstmann has put it). In The History of Human Marriage (1891), Edvard Westermarck defined marriage as "a more or less durable connection between male and female lasting beyond
585-633: A 1955 article in Man , Leach argued that no one definition of marriage applied to all cultures. He offered a list of ten rights associated with marriage, including sexual monopoly and rights with respect to children, with specific rights differing across cultures. Those rights, according to Leach, included: In a 1997 article in Current Anthropology , Duran Bell describes marriage as "a relationship between one or more men (male or female) in severalty to one or more women that provides those men with
702-458: A civil union, as it has come to be called, is not marriage", said Evan Wolfson of Freedom to Marry . "It is a proposed hypothetical legal mechanism, since it doesn't exist in most places, to give some of the protections but also withhold something precious from gay people. There's no good reason to do that." However, some opponents of same-sex marriage claim that civil unions rob marriage of its unique status; Randy Thomasson, executive director of
819-465: A civil union, free from discrimination", language inserted by lawmaker José María Villalta Florez-Estrada of the Broad Front party. After the bill passed, several media outlets reported that conservative lawmakers realized the bill's implications for same-sex unions and urged President Laura Chinchilla , who is set to face Villalta in the 2014 presidential election, to use her veto power to stop
936-449: A correlation between " Bride price " and polygamy. A survey of other cross-cultural samples has confirmed that the absence of the plough was the only predictor of polygamy, although other factors such as high male mortality in warfare (in non-state societies) and pathogen stress (in state societies) had some impact. Marriages are classified according to the number of legal spouses an individual has. The suffix "-gamy" refers specifically to
1053-435: A demand-right of sexual access within a domestic group and identifies women who bear the obligation of yielding to the demands of those specific men." In referring to "men in severalty", Bell is referring to corporate kin groups such as lineages which, in having paid bride price, retain a right in a woman's offspring even if her husband (a lineage member) deceases ( Levirate marriage ). In referring to "men (male or female)", Bell
1170-510: A descendant of both parties might also have access to união estável or concubinato rights. Same-sex stable cohabitation in Brazil is legally recognized nationwide since May 5, 2011. Brazil's Supreme Court voted 10–0 with one abstention to allow same-sex couples the same legal rights as married couples, following pointed recognition of such relationships that dates as far back as 2004. The ruling gave same-sex couples in such relationships
1287-435: A form of human rights abuse, with concerns arising over domestic abuse, forced marriage, and neglect. The vast majority of the world's countries, including virtually all of the world's developed nations, do not permit polygamy. There have been calls for the abolition of polygamy in developing countries. Polygyny usually grants wives equal status, although the husband may have personal preferences. One type of de facto polygyny
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#17327768305351404-597: A form of plural mating, as are those societies dominated by female-headed families in the Caribbean , Mauritius and Brazil where there is frequent rotation of unmarried partners. In all, these account for 16 to 24% of the "monogamous" category. Serial monogamy creates a new kind of relative, the "ex-". The "ex-wife", for example, may remain an active part of her "ex-husband's" or "ex-wife's" life, as they may be tied together by transfers of resources (alimony, child support), or shared child custody. Bob Simpson notes that in
1521-403: A legitimacy-based definition of marriage is circular in societies where illegitimacy has no other legal or social implications for a child other than the mother being unmarried. Edmund Leach criticized Gough's definition for being too restrictive in terms of recognized legitimate offspring and suggested that marriage be viewed in terms of the different types of rights it serves to establish. In
1638-633: A lesser status with fewer benefits. However, the legislatures of the West Coast states of California , Oregon and Washington have preferred the term domestic partnership for enactments similar or equivalent to civil union laws in East Coast states. Civil unions are not seen as a replacement for marriage by many in the LGBT community. "Marriage in the United States is a civil union; but
1755-571: A male to whom they are married or divorced. Polygamy is a marriage which includes more than two spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at a time, the relationship is called polygyny , and there is no marriage bond between the wives; and when a woman is married to more than one husband at a time, it is called polyandry , and there is no marriage bond between the husbands. If a marriage includes multiple husbands or wives, it can be called group marriage . A molecular genetic study of global human genetic diversity argued that sexual polygyny
1872-615: A much older man. Several kinds of same-sex marriages have been documented in Indigenous and lineage-based cultures. In the Americas, We'wha ( Zuni ), was a lhamana (male individuals who, at least some of the time, dress and live in the roles usually filled by women in that culture); a respected artist, We'wha served as an emissary of the Zuni to Washington, where he met President Grover Cleveland . We'wha had at least one husband who
1989-413: A person with higher or lower status than them. Others want to marry people who have similar status. In many societies, women marry men who are of higher social status. There are marriages where each party has sought a partner of similar status. There are other marriages in which the man is older than the woman. Some persons also wish to engage in transactional relationship for money rather than love (thus
2106-405: A practice called sororal polygyny ; the pre-existing relationship between the co-wives is thought to decrease potential tensions within the marriage. Fox argues that "the major difference between polygyny and monogamy could be stated thus: while plural mating occurs in both systems, under polygyny several unions may be recognized as being legal marriages while under monogamy only one of the unions
2223-468: A public commitment." In 2004 Time included Wolfson on its list of the "100 most influential people in the world". In 2004, the first year of Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts , opponents placed constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage on the ballot in 13 states, and all of them passed. Following the losses, Wolfson helped organize more than a dozen LGBTQ leaders to recommit to
2340-791: A registered civil partnership in Austria. At the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg they attempted to sue Austria for discrimination against their sexuality, because they were a heterosexual couple and were excluded from the benefits of registered partnership, but this failed. Only when the Constitutional Court of Austria opened up marriage to homosexuals in December 2018 registered partnerships also become possible for heterosexuals. After 35 years of living together,
2457-533: A roster of more than 30 – led marriage work in almost every state, working with partners across legislative, ballot, and litigation efforts. Wolfson also urged President Barack Obama to publicly support same-sex marriage, which he did in 2012. The Freedom to Marry team's efforts also led to the Democratic Party adding support for same-sex marriage to its official party platform in 2012. In the 2012 election, four states voted in favor of same-sex marriage at
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#17327768305352574-515: A royal lineage by attaching these wives' children to it. The relationships are considered polygynous, not polyandrous, because the female husband is in fact assuming masculine gendered political roles. Religious groups have differing views on the legitimacy of polygyny . It is allowed in Islam and Confucianism . Judaism and Christianity have mentioned practices involving polygyny in the past, however, outright religious acceptance of such practices
2691-466: A sperm donation. Muslim controversies related to Nikah Mut'ah have resulted in the practice being confined mostly to Shi'ite communities. The matrilineal Mosuo of China practice what they call "walking marriage". In some jurisdictions cohabitation , in certain circumstances, may constitute a common-law marriage , an unregistered partnership , or otherwise provide the unmarried partners with various rights and responsibilities; and in some countries,
2808-500: A strong correlation between intensive plough agriculture, dowry and monogamy. This pattern was found in a broad swath of Eurasian societies from Japan to Ireland. The majority of Sub-Saharan African societies that practice extensive hoe agriculture, in contrast, show a correlation between " bride price " and polygamy. A further study drawing on the Ethnographic Atlas showed a statistical correlation between increasing size of
2925-449: A strong indicator for female autonomy and is continuously used by economic history research. Marriage can be recognized by a state , an organization , a religious authority, a tribal group , a local community , or peers. It is often viewed as a contract . A religious marriage ceremony is performed by a religious institution to recognize and create the rights and obligations intrinsic to matrimony in that religion. Religious marriage
3042-527: A supreme court ruling in 2011. In the majority of countries that established same-sex civil unions, they have since been either supplemented or replaced by same-sex marriage . Civil unions are viewed by LGBT rights campaigners as a "first step" towards establishing same-sex marriage, as civil unions are viewed by supporters of LGBT rights as a " separate but equal " or " second class " status. Many jurisdictions with civil unions recognize foreign unions if those are essentially equivalent to their own; for example,
3159-403: A type of marriage of convenience). Such people are sometimes referred to as gold diggers . Separate property systems can however be used to prevent property of being passed on to partners after divorce or death. Evan Wolfson Evan Wolfson (born February 4, 1957) is an attorney and gay rights advocate. He is the founder of Freedom to Marry , a group favoring same-sex marriage in
3276-586: A woman such that children born to the woman are the recognized legitimate offspring of both partners." In recognition of a practice by the Nuer people of Sudan allowing women to act as a husband in certain circumstances (the ghost marriage ), Kathleen Gough suggested modifying this to "a woman and one or more other persons." In an analysis of marriage among the Nayar , a polyandrous society in India, Gough found that
3393-449: Is concubinage , where only one woman gets a wife's rights and status, while other women remain legal house mistresses. Although a society may be classified as polygynous, not all marriages in it necessarily are; monogamous marriages may in fact predominate. It is to this flexibility that Anthropologist Robin Fox attributes its success as a social support system: "This has often meant – given
3510-455: Is "a relationship established between a woman and one or more other persons, which provides a child born to the woman under circumstances not prohibited by the rules of relationship, is accorded full birth-status rights common to normal members of his society or social stratum." Economic anthropologist Duran Bell has criticized the legitimacy-based definition on the basis that some societies do not require marriage for legitimacy. He argued that
3627-410: Is also liable to other penalties, which also vary between jurisdictions. Governments that support monogamy may allow easy divorce. In a number of Western countries, divorce rates approach 50%. Those who remarry do so usually no more than three times. Divorce and remarriage can thus result in "serial monogamy", i.e. having multiple marriages but only one legal spouse at a time. This can be interpreted as
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3744-717: Is different from the practice of polygamy, since it requires wealth to establish multiple households for multiple wives. The actual practice of polygamy in a tolerant society may actually be low, with the majority of aspirant polygamists practicing monogamous marriage. Tracking the occurrence of polygamy is further complicated in jurisdictions where it has been banned, but continues to be practiced ( de facto polygamy ). Zeitzen also notes that Western perceptions of African society and marriage patterns are biased by "contradictory concerns of nostalgia for traditional African culture versus critique of polygamy as oppressive to women or detrimental to development." Polygamy has been condemned as being
3861-623: Is found in other parts of the world as well (including some Mormon sects and Muslim families in the United States). In some societies such as the Lovedu of South Africa, or the Nuer of the Sudan, aristocratic women may become female 'husbands.' In the Lovedu case, this female husband may take a number of polygamous wives. This is not a lesbian relationship, but a means of legitimately expanding
3978-611: Is known variously as sacramental marriage in Christianity (especially Catholicism ), nikah in Islam , nissuin in Judaism , and various other names in other faith traditions, each with their own constraints as to what constitutes, and who can enter into, a valid religious marriage. The word marriage appeared around 1300 and is borrowed from Old French mariage (12th century), itself descended from Vulgar Latin maritāticum (11th century), ultimately tracing to
4095-481: Is legally prohibited from doing so. Cohabitation grants all rights marriage confers, with the exception of automatic opt-in for one of four systems of property share married couples have access to, and automatic right to inheritance. Potential confusion might arise regarding terminology, given how when Brazilian Portuguese refers to the term união civil , it tends to be short for casamento civil , or civil marriage. Couples that have at least one child registered as
4212-627: Is most common in egalitarian societies marked by high male mortality or male absenteeism. It is associated with partible paternity , the cultural belief that a child can have more than one father. The explanation for polyandry in the Himalayan Mountains is related to the scarcity of land; the marriage of all brothers in a family to the same wife ( fraternal polyandry ) allows family land to remain intact and undivided. If every brother married separately and had children, family land would be split into unsustainable small plots. In Europe, this
4329-507: Is observed for both boys and girls, the overwhelming majority of child spouses are girls. In many cases, only one marriage-partner is a child, usually the female, due to the importance placed upon female virginity . Causes of child marriage include poverty , bride price , dowry , laws that allow child marriages, religious and social pressures , regional customs, fear of remaining unmarried, and perceived inability of women to work for money. Today, child marriages are widespread in parts of
4446-482: Is referring to women within the lineage who may stand in as the "social fathers" of the wife's children born of other lovers. (See Nuer " ghost marriage ".) Monogamy is a form of marriage in which an individual has only one spouse during their lifetime or at any one time (serial monogamy). Anthropologist Jack Goody 's comparative study of marriage around the world utilizing the Ethnographic Atlas found
4563-501: Is so recognized. Often, however, it is difficult to draw a hard and fast line between the two." As polygamy in Africa is increasingly subject to legal limitations, a variant form of de facto (as opposed to legal or de jure ) polygyny is being practiced in urban centers. Although it does not involve multiple (now illegal) formal marriages, the domestic and personal arrangements follow old polygynous patterns. The de facto form of polygyny
4680-500: Is that, in the intervening years, what has been made unmistakably clear to me by the lesbians and gay men that we work with and represent, is that the denial of our right to marry exacerbates our marginalization; winning that right is the cornerstone of full justice." In 2003 Time magazine described him as symbolic of the gay rights movement. In his book Why Marriage Matters , Wolfson calls marriage "a relationship of emotional and financial interdependence between two people who make
4797-650: Is wide cross-cultural variation in the social rules governing the selection of a partner for marriage. There is variation in the degree to which partner selection is an individual decision by the partners or a collective decision by the partners' kin groups, and there is variation in the rules regulating which partners are valid choices. The United Nations World Fertility Report of 2003 reports that 89% of all people get married before age forty-nine. The percent of women and men who marry before age forty-nine drops to nearly 50% in some nations and reaches near 100% in other nations. In other cultures with less strict rules governing
Civil union - Misplaced Pages Continue
4914-526: The Latin maritātus 'married', past participle of maritāre 'to marry'. The adjective marītus, -a, -um 'matrimonial, nuptial' could also be used, through nominalization , in the masculine form as a noun for 'husband' and in the feminine form for 'wife'. The related word matrimony is borrowed from the Old French word matremoine , which appears around 1300 CE and is in turn ultimately
5031-616: The Netherlands passed a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, in addition to its 1998 "registered partnership" law (civil union) for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. In 2004, Senator Maria Szyszkowska proposed a bill which would legalize same-sex civil unions in Poland. The project was approved by the Senate but was never voted upon by the Sejm , as Włodzimierz Cimoszewicz (then
5148-590: The Oneida Perfectionists in up-state New York. Of the 250 societies reported by the American anthropologist George Murdock in 1949, only the Kaingang of Brazil had any group marriages at all. A child marriage is a marriage where one or both spouses are under the age of 18. It is related to child betrothal and teenage pregnancy . Child marriage was common throughout history, even up until
5265-554: The Supreme Court in Boy Scouts of America v. Dale . He now teaches law and social change at Georgetown Law School and at Yale University; serves as a senior counsel at Dentons , the world's largest law firm; and primarily provides advice and assistance to other organizations and causes, in the United States and globally, that are seeking to adapt the lessons on "how to win" from the same-sex marriage movement. Wolfson
5382-933: The United Kingdom lists equivalent unions in the Civil Partnership Act 2004 Schedule 20 . The marriages of same-sex couples performed abroad may be recognized as civil unions in jurisdictions that only have the latter. The terms used to designate civil unions are not standardised and vary widely from country to country. Government-sanctioned relationships that may be similar or equivalent to civil unions include civil partnerships , registered partnerships , domestic partnerships , significant relationships , reciprocal beneficiary relationships , common-law marriage , adult interdependent relationships , life partnerships , stable unions , civil solidarity pacts , and so on. The exact level of rights, benefits, obligations, and responsibilities also varies, depending on
5499-573: The United States Supreme Court on April 26, 2000, to argue on behalf of Scoutmaster James Dale in the landmark case Boy Scouts of America v. Dale , in which the court ruled that the Boy Scouts organization had the right to expel Dale for revealing that he was gay through their First Amendment rights. The justices questioned Wolfson "aggressively". The court ruled 5–4 against Dale, but Wolfson, said, "Even before we change
5616-399: The civil union or domestic partnership approaches, because semantic differences create "a stigma of exclusion" and deny gay couples "social and other advantages". In February 2016, its goal achieved, Freedom to Marry officially closed. After the closure of the organization, Wolfson devoted his time to advising and assisting other movements and social causes in the United States and around
5733-438: The "Pacte civil de solidarité" (PACS), it is more easily dissolved than the divorce process applying to marriage. Tax benefits accrue immediately (only from 2007 on), while immigration benefits accrue only after the contract has been in effect for one year. The partners are required to have a common address, making it difficult for foreigners to use this law as a means to a residence permit, and difficult for French citizens to gain
5850-438: The 1900s in the United States, where in 1880 CE, in the state of Delaware , the age of consent for marriage was 7 years old. Still, in 2017, over half of the 50 United States have no explicit minimum age to marry and several states set the age as low as 14. Today it is condemned by international human rights organizations. Child marriages are often arranged between the families of the future bride and groom, sometimes as soon as
5967-622: The Appeals Bureau. There, he wrote a Supreme Court amicus brief that helped win a nationwide ban on race discrimination in jury selection ( Batson v. Kentucky ). Wolfson also wrote a brief to New York's highest court, the Court of Appeals , that helped win the elimination of the marital rape exemption ( People v. Liberta ). Following the District Attorney's Office, Wolfson served as associate counsel to Lawrence Walsh in
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#17327768305356084-516: The British case, serial monogamy creates an "extended family" – a number of households tied together in this way, including mobile children (possible exes may include an ex-wife, an ex-brother-in-law, etc., but not an "ex-child"). These "unclear families" do not fit the mould of the monogamous nuclear family . As a series of connected households, they come to resemble the polygynous model of separate households maintained by mothers with children, tied by
6201-631: The Campaign for California Families, calls civil unions "homosexual marriage by another name" and contends that civil unions provide same-sex couples "all the rights of marriage available under state law". The California Supreme Court, in the In Re Marriage Cases decision, noted nine differences in state law. Civil unions are commonly criticised as being ' separate but equal '; critics such as former New Zealand MP and feminist Marilyn Waring note that same-sex couples remain excluded from
6318-464: The Constitutional Court ruled that cohabitating same-sex couples must be given all rights offered to unmarried heterosexual couples, making Colombia the first Latin American country to fully grant this right to all its citizens. Couples can claim these rights after living together for two years. Colombia has since approved same-sex marriage. The Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica passed a bill in early July 2013 that "confers social rights and benefits of
6435-519: The Marshal of the Sejm) did not bring it for the deliberation. Marriage Marriage , also called matrimony or wedlock , is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses . It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and between them and their in-laws . It is nearly a cultural universal , but
6552-491: The Mormons, a home and family for every woman." Nonetheless, polygyny is a gender issue which offers men asymmetrical benefits. In some cases, there is a large age discrepancy (as much as a generation) between a man and his youngest wife, compounding the power differential between the two. Tensions not only exist between genders, but also within genders; senior and junior men compete for wives, and senior and junior wives in
6669-588: The National Freedom to Marry Coalition, a forerunner to Freedom to Marry. Wolfson served as co-counsel alongside Hawaii attorney Dan Foley and co-wrote an amicus brief in Baehr v. Miike , in which the Supreme Court of Hawaii said prohibiting same-sex marriage in the state constituted discrimination. Wolfson and Foley then conducted a trial before Hawaii judge Kevin Chang, which on December 3, 1996, resulted in
6786-629: The Office of Independent Counsel ( Iran/Contra ). In 1992, he served on the New York State Task Force on Sexual Harassment. From 1989 until 2001 Wolfson worked full-time at Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund , a gay rights advocacy non-profit, handling cases on a range of matters, from partnership and custody, to military discrimination, to HIV/AIDS , to employment discrimination , to challenges to so-called "sodomy" laws . Wolfson directed their Marriage Project and coordinated
6903-740: The Oireachtas, and came into effect on 1 January 2011. The first partnership between two men was registered on 7 February 2011. Same-sex marriage has been legal in Ireland since 2015 following a referendum . Civil unions in Italy began in 2016. Civil unions in Liechtenstein began in 2011. Civil unions in Monaco began in 2020. Civil unions in Montenegro began in 2020. In 2001,
7020-597: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against the Defense of Marriage Act , and in the months that followed many federal judges ruled against state constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage. Several of these cases reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled on June 26, 2015, in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex couples nationwide have the right to marry. Frank Bruni wrote in The New York Times after
7137-519: The United States , serving as president until its 2015 victory and subsequent wind-down. Wolfson authored the book Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Right to Marry , which Time Out New York magazine called, "Perhaps the most important gay-marriage primer ever written". He was listed as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world . He has taught as an adjunct professor at Columbia Law School , Rutgers Law School , and Whittier Law School and argued before
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#17327768305357254-406: The [Boy Scout] policy, we are succeeding in getting people to rethink how they feel about gay people." He summed it up, "We may have lost the case, but we are winning the cause"; the disagreement with the policy and awakened activism by Scout members and supporters led the Boy Scouts to change their policy in 2013. Dale said of Wolfson: "Evan understood the importance of the organization to me, and
7371-440: The accusations of apartheid. Proponents of civil unions say that they provide practical equality for same-sex couples and solve the problems over areas such as hospital visitation rights and transfer of property caused by lack of legal recognition. Proponents also say that creating civil unions is a more pragmatic way to ensure that same-sex couples have legal rights as it avoids the more controversial issues surrounding marriage and
7488-483: The ballot, the first-ever electoral victories for supporters of same-sex marriage. Molly Ball wrote in a post-election piece in The Atlantic , "When it came to the ballot box, just as gay-marriage opponents were convinced they couldn't lose, some proponents had become convinced they were jinxed. Evan Wolfson refused to believe that. Against all evidence to the contrary, he thought his side could win." In 2013
7605-618: The bill from becoming law. Chinchilla, who has suggested the courts should determine the legality of same-sex unions in Costa Rica, refused and signed the bill into law on 4 July. A gay couple has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica asking that their union be recognized under the new law. Gay rights activists reacting to the law said it needs to survive a constitutional challenge in court. Some constitutional lawyers stated that same-sex couples will "still lack legal capacity" to formalize their unions, despite passage of
7722-534: The bill. The 2008 Constitution of Ecuador enacted civil unions between two people without regard to gender, giving same-sex couples the same rights as legally married heterosexual couples except for the right to adopt. In Europe: In 2018, Minister of Justice Josef Moser announced that both marriage and registered partnership would be open to homosexuals and heterosexuals. This occurred because Helga Ratzenböck and Martin Seydl have been appealing for years in court for
7839-624: The center for women's studies at Beijing University, told a Newsday correspondent, "Walking marriages reflect sweeping changes in Chinese society." A "walking marriage" refers to a type of temporary marriage formed by the Mosuo of China, in which male partners live elsewhere and make nightly visits. A similar arrangement in Saudi Arabia , called misyar marriage , also involves the husband and wife living separately but meeting regularly. There
7956-598: The church blesses people, not institutions. The new law makes same-sex marriages in churches possible, but allows vicars to decline marriages of same-sex couples in their church. On 17 March 2009, the Folketing introduced a bill that gave same-sex couples in registered partnerships the right to adopt jointly . This bill was approved on 4 May 2010 and took effect on 1 July 2010. The French law providing benefits to same-sex couples also applies to opposite-sex couples who choose this form of partnership over marriage. Known as
8073-455: The claim that the term has a religious source. Many supporters of same-sex marriage state that the word 'marriage' matters and that the term 'civil union' (and its equivalents) do not convey the emotional meaning or bring the respect that comes with marriage. Former US Solicitor General and attorney in the Perry v. Schwarzenegger case Theodore Olsen said that recognizing same-sex couples under
8190-463: The climate in which litigation could succeed, bringing on National Campaign Director Marc Solomon , messaging expert Thalia Zepatos, digital experts like Michael Crawford, Cameron Tolle, and Adam Polaski, and opening a federal office in Washington, D.C. Between 2010 and 2014, Wolfson's newly expanded Freedom to Marry team – which dramatically increased its budget to more than $ 13 million and grew to
8307-503: The common-law marriage, de facto status or unregistered cohabitation. Registered relationship recognition in state Governments: Registered relationship recognition in 5 local government areas within Australia: Cohabitation grants 112 benefits as family entities in Brazil since 2002. It is known as união estável when both parts are legally authorized to marry, and as concubinato when at least one party
8424-427: The definition of marriage varies between cultures and religions , and over time. Typically, it is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually sexual , are acknowledged or sanctioned. In some cultures, marriage is recommended or considered to be compulsory before pursuing sexual activity . A marriage ceremony is called a wedding , while a private marriage is sometimes called an elopement . Around
8541-687: The earliest documented same-sex wedding in Latin Christendom occurred in Rome, Italy , at the San Giovanni a Porta Latina basilica in 1581. Several cultures have practised temporary and conditional marriages. Examples include the Celtic practice of handfasting and fixed-term marriages in the Muslim community. Pre-Islamic Arabs practiced a form of temporary marriage that carries on today in
8658-513: The fight, rearticulate the strategy, and renew the call for an expanded national campaign. The outcome of many discussions was a concept paper, drafted chiefly by the ACLU's Matt Coles together with Wolfson, "Winning Marriage: What We Need to Do". The concept paper, which became known as the "10-10-10-20" or "2020 Vision", paper (referencing the group's aim to win marriage by 2020), was signed by every major LGBT group. Victories and losses followed over
8775-545: The girl is born. However, in the late 1800s in England and the United States, feminist activists began calling for raised age of consent laws, which was eventually handled in the 1920s, having been raised to 16–18. Child marriages can also occur in the context of bride kidnapping . In the year 1552 CE, John Somerford and Jane Somerford Brereton were both married at the ages of 3 and 2, respectively. Twelve years later, in 1564, John filed for divorce. While child marriage
8892-430: The group lacked a husband role in the conventional sense. The husband role, unitary in the west, was instead divided between a non-resident "social father" of the woman's children, and her lovers, who were the actual procreators. None of these men had legal rights to the woman's child. This forced Gough to disregard sexual access as a key element of marriage and to define it in terms of legitimacy of offspring alone: marriage
9009-418: The group marriage, and all members of the marriage share parental responsibility for any children arising from the marriage. No country legally condones group marriages, neither under the law nor as a common law marriage, but historically it has been practiced by some cultures of Polynesia, Asia, Papua New Guinea and the Americas – as well as in some intentional communities and alternative subcultures such as
9126-572: The groups from which a partner can be chosen the selection of a marriage partner may involve either the couple going through a selection process of courtship or the marriage may be arranged by the couple's parents or an outside party, a matchmaker . Some people want to marry a person that is older or younger than they. This may impact marital stability and partners with more than a 10-year gap in age tend to experience social disapproval In addition, older women (older than 35) have increased health risks when getting pregnant. Some people want to marry
9243-423: The husband had freedom to engage in outside sexual liaisons. The Codex Theodosianus ( C. Th. 9.7.3) issued in 438 CE imposed severe penalties or death on same-sex relationships, but the exact intent of the law and its relation to social practice is unclear, as only a few examples of same-sex relationships in that culture exist. Same-sex unions were celebrated in some regions of China, such as Fujian . Possibly
9360-419: The imbalance in the sex ratios, the higher male infant mortality, the shorter life span of males, the loss of males in wartime, etc. – that often women were left without financial support from husbands. To correct this condition, females had to be killed at birth, remain single, become prostitutes, or be siphoned off into celibate religious orders. Polygynous systems have the advantage that they can promise, as did
9477-467: The importance of an American institution like the Boy Scouts discriminating against somebody and how that could impact the public dialogue and conversation." On April 30, 2001, Wolfson left Lambda to form Freedom to Marry , having secured a "very generous" grant from the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund . Wolfson described the breadth of his vision for the new organization: "I'm not in this just to change
9594-547: The law was passed with 194 positive votes (out of 300). Civil unions in Hungary began in 2009. Iceland does not have a comprehensive legal act on civil unions ( Icelandic : óvígð sambúð ). Instead, various laws deal with civil unions and their meaning. When Iceland legalised same-sex marriages in 2010, the Act on Registered Partnerships (87/1996) was abolished. Registered partnerships ( Icelandic : staðfest samvist ) had been
9711-641: The law. It's about changing society. I want gay kids to grow up believing that they can get married, that they can join the Scouts, that they can choose the life they want to live." Lambda executive director Kevin Cathcart said that over twelve years Wolfson had "personified Lambda's passion and vision for equality." Kate Kendell , executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights , said of her experience with Wolfson at Lambda: "What I can now say
9828-653: The laws of a particular country. Some jurisdictions allow same-sex couples to adopt, while others forbid them to do so, or allow adoption only in specified circumstances. In the United States , the term civil union was introduced in the state of Vermont in 2000 to connote a status equivalent to marriage for same-sex couples; it was chosen by the state's legislators in preference to phrases such as "domestic partner relationship" or "civil accord". Domestic partnership , offered by some states, counties, cities, and employers since as early as 1985, has generally connoted
9945-459: The laws recognize cohabitation in lieu of institutional marriage for taxation and social security benefits. This is the case, for example, in Australia. Cohabitation may be an option pursued as a form of resistance to traditional institutionalized marriage. However, in this context, some nations reserve the right to define the relationship as marital, or otherwise to regulate the relation, even if
10062-424: The legal status of married women, leniency towards violence within marriage, customs such as dowry and bride price , marriageable age , and criminalization of premarital and extramarital sex . Individuals may marry for several reasons, including legal , social , libidinal , emotional , financial , spiritual , cultural , economic , political , religious , sexual , and romantic purposes. In some areas of
10179-475: The mere act of propagation till after the birth of the offspring." In The Future of Marriage in Western Civilization (1936), he rejected his earlier definition, instead provisionally defining marriage as "a relation of one or more men to one or more women that is recognized by custom or law". The anthropological handbook Notes and Queries (1951) defined marriage as "a union between a man and
10296-490: The next few years, with Wolfson advising and weighing in on nearly all of the efforts to secure marriage for same-sex couples, serving as a national expert on and consistently optimistic champion of, same-sex marriage. After the passage of Proposition 8 in California , Wolfson worked with funders and movement partners to increase capacity for Freedom to Marry as the central campaign to drive the national strategy and create
10413-443: The number of spouses, as in bi-gamy (two spouses, generally illegal in most nations), and poly-gamy (more than one spouse). Societies show variable acceptance of polygamy as a cultural ideal and practice. According to the Ethnographic Atlas , of 1,231 societies noted, 186 were monogamous; 453 had occasional polygyny; 588 had more frequent polygyny, and 4 had polyandry. However, as Miriam Zeitzen writes, social tolerance for polygamy
10530-591: The practice of Nikah mut'ah , a fixed-term marriage contract. The Islamic prophet Muhammad sanctioned a temporary marriage – sigheh in Iran and muta'a in Iraq – which can provide a legitimizing cover for sex workers. The same forms of temporary marriage have been used in Egypt, Lebanon and Iran to make the donation of a human ova legal for in vitro fertilisation ; a woman cannot, however, use this kind of marriage to obtain
10647-508: The principal legal unions for same-sex partners since the law was passed in 1996. In 2010, the lower house of the Irish Parliament Dáil Éireann passed the bill on Civil Partnerships unanimously. This bill allows civil partnerships of same-sex couples, and establishes an extensive package of rights, obligations and protections for same-sex couples who register as civil partners. The bill passed all stages of in both Houses of
10764-623: The question gained national prominence. On October 6, 2010, he returned to the Yale Political Union to debate same-sex marriage against opponent Maggie Gallagher , chairman of the National Organization for Marriage . While in law school, Wolfson was a teaching-fellow in political philosophy at Harvard College before he returned to his birthplace as Kings County ( Brooklyn ) assistant district attorney, prosecuting sex crimes and homicides, as well as serving in
10881-537: The relation has not been registered with the state or a religious institution. Conversely, institutionalized marriages may not involve cohabitation. In some cases, couples living together do not wish to be recognized as married. This may occur because pension or alimony rights are adversely affected; because of taxation considerations; because of immigration issues, or for other reasons. Such marriages have also been increasingly common in Beijing . Guo Jianmei, director of
10998-497: The right to live with a foreign partner – especially since the contract does not automatically give immigration rights, as marriage does. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of marriages decreased while the number of PACS strongly increased. In 2010, there were 3 PACS for every 4 marriages celebrated in France. Especially amongst heterosexual couples PACS is very popular, with 96 out of 100 PACS couples being heterosexual in
11115-579: The right to marry and are forced to use a separate institution. Supporters of same-sex marriage contend that treating same-sex couples differently from other couples under the law allows for inferior treatment and that if civil unions were the same as marriage there would be no reason for two separate laws. A New Jersey commission which reviewed the state's civil union law reported that the law "invites and encourages unequal treatment of same-sex couples and their children". Some have suggested that creating civil unions which are open to opposite-sex couples would avoid
11232-574: The same financial and social rights enjoyed by those in mixed-sex ones. A union between two women and one man was reported in August 2012, though its legality was doubted. In Canada : were extended to same-sex couples before the enactment of the federal Civil Marriage Act which legalized same-sex marriage in Canada nationally. The 1994 proposed Equality Rights Statute Amendment Act in Ontario
11349-400: The same household may experience radically different life conditions, and internal hierarchy. Several studies have suggested that the wive's relationship with other women, including co-wives and husband's female kin, are more critical relationships than that with her husband for her productive, reproductive and personal achievement. In some societies, the co-wives are relatives, usually sisters,
11466-499: The same-sex movement is not pushing for a traditional, heterosexual model for all gays and lesbians and creating a political schism, and as such, gravely misrepresent the consequences of their own work for the past 20 years." Wolfson replied "I think if Terrence McNally , Steinem and the others were actually shown some of Richard Kim's articles as opposed to the broad, conciliatory and coalition-building goals found in that statement, they would not endorse his articles nor his views." In
11583-402: The society, the belief in "high gods" to support human morality, and monogamy. In the countries which do not permit polygamy, a person who marries in one of those countries a person while still being lawfully married to another commits the crime of bigamy . In all cases, the second marriage is considered legally null and void. Besides the second and subsequent marriages being void, the bigamist
11700-571: The term 'domestic partnership' stigmatizes gay people's relationships, treating them as if they were "something akin to a commercial venture, not a loving union". Many also contend that the fact that civil unions are often not understood can cause difficulty for same-sex couples in emergency situations. As of July 18, 2024, the states that provide civil unions but not marriage for same-sex couples are: In Israel , no national domestic authority performs same-sex marriage, though couples may marry abroad. In addition, same-sex couples may be considered to have
11817-561: The two entered into a registered partnership in 2019. Civil unions were introduced in Denmark by law on 7 June 1989, the world's first such law, and came into effect on 1 October 1989. On 7 June 2012, the law was replaced by a new same-sex marriage law, which came into effect on 15 June 2012. Registered partnership was by civil ceremony only, but the Church of Denmark allowed priests to perform blessings of same-sex couples, as it stated that
11934-464: The victory, "Nothing about [the marriage fight] feels quick if you consider that Evan Wolfson, a chief architect of the political quest for same-sex marriage, wrote a thesis on the topic at Harvard Law School in 1983." Some critics such as BeyondMarriage.org assert Wolfson and others' work is too narrowly focused on a limited marriage agenda. Richard Kim, signatory and founding board member of Queers for Economic Justice, disputes Wolfson's assertion that
12051-542: The world's first-ever ruling in favor of the freedom to marry. Wolfson also worked on Baker v. Vermont , the Vermont Supreme Court case that led to the creation of civil unions in Vermont by the state legislature as a "compromise" between same-sex marriage advocates and those objecting to same-sex marriage . Wolfson called the unions a "wonderful step forward", but not enough. Wolfson appeared before
12168-421: The world, arranged marriage , forced marriage , polygyny marriage , polyandry marriage , group marriage , coverture marriage , child marriage , cousin marriage , sibling marriage , teenage marriage , avunculate marriage , incestuous marriage , and bestiality marriage are practiced and legally permissible, while others areas outlaw them to protect human rights . Female age at marriage has proven to be
12285-522: The world, sharing the model and lessons learned from the Freedom to Marry campaign. In 2016 Wolfson was named Distinguished Visitor from Practice at Georgetown Law Center and Distinguished Practitioner in Grand Strategy at Yale, teaching law and social change, and he also serves as senior counsel at Dentons . In 2016, he delivered the commencement address at Northeastern Illinois University and
12402-401: The world, there has been a general trend towards ensuring equal rights for women and ending discrimination and harassment against couples who are interethnic , interracial , interfaith , interdenominational , interclass , intercommunity , transnational , and same-sex as well as immigrant couples, couples with an immigrant spouse, and other minority couples. Debates persist regarding
12519-521: The world; being most common in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa , with more than half of the girls in some countries in those regions being married before 18. The incidence of child marriage has been falling in most parts of the world. In developed countries, child marriage is outlawed or restricted. Girls who marry before 18 are at greater risk of becoming victims of domestic violence , than those who marry later, especially when they are married to
12636-499: The year 2019. Civil unions in Germany began in 2001. In 2017, registered life partnership was replaced with marriage, with any couple regardless of sex allowed to marry. Greek parliament voted in favor of a Cohabitation Pact ( Greek : Σύμφωνο Συμβίωσης) giving almost the same rights as marriage to couples regardless of their sex. The draft was approved in the relevant Greek parliament committee and during voting on 22 December 2015,
12753-426: Was a notable early attempt to introduce a status similar to civil unions. It was supported by the provincial government but was defeated in the legislature. Some provinces and territories amended their family law to extend statutory benefits to same-sex couples that were equivalent to those granted to unmarried cohabiting opposite-sex couples without establishing a specific name for the partnership. For example, Ontario
12870-820: Was born in to a Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Pittsburgh . He graduated from Taylor Allderdice High School in 1974 and Yale College in 1978. At Yale, he was a resident of Silliman College , a history major, and speaker of the Yale Political Union . After graduation he served in the Peace Corps in Togo , in western Africa. He returned and entered Harvard Law School , where he earned his Juris Doctor in 1983. Wolfson wrote his 1983 Harvard Law thesis on same-sex marriage, long before
12987-420: Was generally recognized as such. While it is a relatively new practice to grant same-sex couples the same form of legal marital recognition as commonly granted to mixed-sex couples, there is some history of recorded same-sex unions around the world. Ancient Greek same-sex relationships were like modern companionate marriages, unlike their different-sex marriages in which the spouses had few emotional ties, and
13104-770: Was legalized. The following is a list of countries and other jurisdictions that used to offer civil unions for same-sex couples with the years in which they were available in brackets: Since 2003, the Argentine province of Río Negro and the city of Buenos Aires allow domestic partnerships. The City of Villa Carlos Paz (Córdoba) allowed it from 2007. Since 2009, the city of Río Cuarto (Córdoba) allows Civil Unions. All levels of Australian Governments under nearly all Australian statutes do recognise same-sex couples as de facto couples as unregistered co-habitation or de facto status since 2009. From 1 July 2009 Centrelink recognised same-sex couples equally regarding social security – under
13221-485: Was not addressed until its rejection in later passages. They do explicitly prohibit polygyny today. Polyandry is notably more rare than polygyny, though less rare than the figure commonly cited in the Ethnographic Atlas (1980) which listed only those polyandrous societies found in the Himalayan Mountains. More recent studies have found 53 societies outside the 28 found in the Himalayans which practice polyandry. It
13338-406: Was prevented through the social practice of impartible inheritance (the dis-inheriting of most siblings, some of whom went on to become celibate monks and priests). Group marriage (also known as multi-lateral marriage ) is a form of polyamory in which more than two persons form a family unit, with all the members of the group marriage being considered to be married to all the other members of
13455-493: Was required to amend its family law legislation in 1999 in response to the Supreme Court of Canada 's ruling in M v H . In 2007, Colombia came close to passing a law granting legal recognition to same-sex couples, but the bill failed on final passage in one house of the national legislature. However, a court decision in October 2007 extended social security and health insurance rights to same-sex couples. On January 29, 2009,
13572-542: Was the first country to legalise civil unions, for same-sex couples; however most other developed democracies did not begin establishing civil unions until the 1990s or early 2000s, often developing them from less formal domestic partnerships . While civil unions are often established for both opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples, in a number of countries they are available to same-sex couples only. In Brazil , civil unions were first created for opposite-sex couples in 2002, and then expanded to include same-sex couples through
13689-481: Was typical of human reproductive patterns until the shift to sedentary farming communities approximately 10,000 to 5,000 years ago in Europe and Asia, and more recently in Africa and the Americas. As noted above, Anthropologist Jack Goody 's comparative study of marriage around the world utilizing the Ethnographic Atlas found that the majority of Sub-Saharan African societies that practice extensive hoe agriculture show
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