Today in history marked the first sustained victory for the queer movement's fight for equal marriage:
November 18, 2003 - The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts rules that the state cannot bar same-sex couples from marrying and gives the legislature until June to rewrite the laws.
Where has marriage gone since then? Instead of focusing on the national debate, I would like to bring in the international debate. I aim to first give you the most publicized victories around the world, but then go on to tell you some groundbreaking marriage equality victories that you most likely haven't even heard of yet.
Spain legalized gay marriage on
July 3rd 2005.
Canada followed soon after, legalizing same-sex marriage on July 20th, 2005
South Africa passed a bill on November 14th legalizing same-sex marriage.
NOW to the victories you probably have NOT heard about!:
When the Netherlands legalized same-sex marriage in 2001,- being the first country in the world to do so- a debate emerged over whether or not this law would apply to the Caribbean island of Aruba, which is a part of the Netherlands.
According to Dutch law: Dutch statutes require that all members of the Kingdom of the Netherlands - Aruba, The Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles - recognize each other's legal documents, including marriage certificates.
Recent court rulings have sided in favor of same-sex couples in Aruba.
On August 13th, 2004, Australia passed a Constitutional Amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Despite this, equality has progressed in this country:
Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, is set to create a domestic partner registry for same-sex couples. The plan was put forward by openly gay Deputy Lord Mayor Gary Singer and endorsed by Lord Mayor John So...
The announcement came only days after the state of South Australia announced legislation creating a domestic partner registry that will provide many of the rights of marriage...
Public opinion has been slowly shifting in favor of recognizing same-sex relationships and Prime Minister John Howard now has suggested his government may look at ways of granting limited recognition to same-sex couples. But Howard said he has no intention of repealing the ban on gay marriage. Slow but SURE change in Australia!
Austria had a groundbreaking case involving the high court of Austria granting a MTF transsexual the right to stay married to her wife even after transition. It's a start for marriage equality. The fact that the debate was over marriage and not over the right of the MTF transsexual to change her official sex is a victory in and of itself.
China introduced a bill to legalize same-sex marriage: The Chinese Parliament in 2003 proposed legislation allowing same-sex marriages. During the course of the debate the proposal failed to garner the 30 votes needed for a placement on the agenda. Same-sex marriage supporters have vowed to keep pressing for its passage in the People's Republic of China. Though this issue was rejected, this was the first time that an item of gay rights was discussed in China.
Just in from France!: Segolene Royal has won the Socialist Party nomination to run for President in 2007 and polls suggest she would likely win...
Royal has been a longtime advocate of LGBT rights. In June she told the LGBT publication Tetu that she supported same-sex marriage, becoming the first major French politician to do so.
Out of Ireland, both the good and bad:: A new public opinion poll shows the majority of people in Ireland believe same-sex couples should have the same rights and obligations as married opposite-sex couples.
But the survey also shows most people do not think same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt children...
The issue of same-sex marriage is before Ireland's highest court...
The court heard arguments in the case earlier this month [October 2006] and has reserved judgment.
I'll save you from reading every update that I could possibly give, but if you have time, check the progression of the marriage debate in
Latvia
Lithuania
New Zealand
Portugal
Romania
Sweden
Taiwan
United Kingdom
I'll leave you guys with the 365gay.com quote that inspired my rant!
"It doesn't have the legal status of marriage but it does provide some evidentiary basis in court for gay and lesbian couples."
Melbourne, Australia Deputy Lord Mayor Gay Singer of newDomestic Partner registry.
Author's Note: My name is Kevin Ballie, a student at American University (AU). I happen to work at the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Ally (GLBTA) Resource Center at AU. My area of activism centers particularly around GLBT activism. My goal is to write diaries on DailyKos as a regular update concerning issues facing the GLBT community. I sincerely hope to gain a readership base of committed GLBT activists and our supporters. Such a base will only enhance DailyKos and provoke greater thought. Just as a note, I may use terms like gay, lesbian, bisexual transgender (GLBT) or queer (a substitute for GLBT).