« Latino panel addresses educational favoritism | Main | Pay attention to the man behind the curtain »
October 19, 2004
Wordwide Sexuality Update At-A-Glance
Following national Coming Out Week, the Oracle takes a brief look at same-sex marriage laws both nationally and internationally.
Vermont is currently the only state in the U.S. to have enacted a law granting the same rights that
accompany traditional marriages to same-sex marriages, although Massachusetts' highest court legalized same-sex marriage in the state in 2003.
More recently, in August of this year, the state of Missouri voted to officially ban same-sex marriage in a referendum.
In the summer of 2003, Texas overturned a ban on sodomy, which made it essentially impossible for any legal action to outlaw gay sex.
Spain is likely to become the third country in the European Union (EU) to legalize marriage between homosexuals this fall, after the Spanish government gave its approval to a draft law that would make same-sex marriages legal in the nation. The Spanish government estimates that 10 percent of its population is gay.
The Netherlands became to first EU nation to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001, followed later by Belgium and two Canadian provinces.
Argentina, France, and Germany currently permit same-sex couples to register their partnerships legally.
In September, India rejected a legal petition brought forward with the aim of legalizing homosexuality, which would have prevented it from remaining a punishable offense.
Zanzibar drafted a bill earlier this year which would increase the severity of punishment for gay and lesbian citizens. It would also ban same-sex marriages in the nation. The new punishments include a maximum life imprisonment sentence for sodomy and imprisonment for up to seven years for lesbians.
In 2003, Singapore began allowing homosexuals to work in the government, with the condition that they publicly declare their sexual orientation in their applications for employment.
Posted by msveum at October 19, 2004 11:01 AM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)