9-21-10+NHD+pre+research

Same Sex Marriage Around the World:

There currently is a raging debate going on, not just in the US, but the rest of the world, it's whether or not to allow people of the same sex to marry. Out of all the countries in the world only a mere 10 allow same sex couples to marry. The first was the Netherlands in 2001. Over the years Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Portugal, South Africa and, most recently, Argentina (which became the first country in South America to do so) followed. Mexico City, Mexico performs the marriages while the rest of the states of Mexico only recognize it. The only states in the United States to perform it are Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Iowa, and the territory of Washington D.C. It's interesting to see that most of the countries/states to legalize it are liberal in government.

A debate within a debate is whether homosexuals are satisfied with civil unions, basically marriage without the ceremony. Denmark was the first country to legalize these unions in 1989 and many other countries/US states have followed. While some homosexuals feel it's good enough, others feel left out or denied the right to have an official marriage.