"Joy and pleasure are as real as pain and sorrow and one must learn what they have to teach. . . ." -- Sean Russell, from Gatherer of Clouds

"If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right." -- Helyn D. Goldenberg

"I love you and I'm not afraid." -- Evanescence, "My Last Breath"

“If I hear ‘not allowed’ much oftener,” said Sam, “I’m going to get angry.” -- J.R.R. Tolkien, from Lord of the Rings

Monday, August 05, 2013

It's Official

Uruguay starts same-sex marriages today.

In April, Congress in Uruguay approved the bill by more than two-thirds of the lower chamber, despite stark opposition from the Catholic Church.

The proposal had already been passed by the Senate by 23 votes to 8 a week earlier.

It allows same-sex couples to choose the order of the surnames of the children they adopt.

Two things of note in that story: the margins by which the legislation passed, in spite of the Roman Church's strong opposition, and the fact that gay couples can legally adopt children, which has been a sticking point in a lot of debates over SSM.

That brings the total to -- hmm, let's see (and bear with me -- I'm doing this from memory):

Canada
Netherlands
Belgium
France
Spain
Portugal
England and Wales
Denmark
Sweden
Norway
Iceland
South Africa
Argentina
Uruguay
New Zealand
Colombia (theoretically: the courts and the legislature are at odds over just exactly what's going to be recognized; presently, civil unions are authorized)
Brazil, by court decision; the details haven't been finalized
Saba (a "special municipality" of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and the only Dutch possession to independently recognize SSM)

Mexico, United States: marriages recognized at the federal level, but cannot be legally performed in all jurisdictions.

Scotland, Republic of Ireland: in the works, with final action by 2014.

Civil Unions are recognized in Germany, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Finland.

I guess it's time for Brian Brown to make a world tour, so he can start rolling back the clock.

I'll be back with today's Marriage News Watch when AFER gets it posted.


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