Gay marriage equality
What the Same Sex Marriage Bill Does and Doesn't Do
The U.S. Senate passed landmark legislation this week enshrining protections for equal sex and interracial marriages in federal law in a bipartisan vote that marked a dramatic turnaround on a once highly divisive issue.
The Senate action marks a major hurdle for the legislation, which President Biden has said he will signal into law pending a vote in the Dwelling of Representatives.
Leonore F. Carpenter, a Rutgers Law School professor who has served as an LGBTQA rights attorney, explains what the Respect for Marriage Act accomplishes, and what is does not.
What exactly does the Respect for Marriage Behave do to protect lgbtq+ marriage?
The Act does a few important things.
First, it repeals the federal Defense of Marriage Act. That law was passed in , and it prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages that had been validly entered into under a state’s law. It also gave the green light to states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
Next, it prohibits states from refusing to
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the world. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of community, national and regional advocates and share tools, resources, and lessons learned to authorize movements for marriage equality.
Current State of Marriage Equality
There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay.
These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions.
Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in
Liechtenstein: On May 16, , Liechtenstein's gove
The Economic Impact of Marriage Equality 10 Years After Obergefell
Sales Tax Revenue
States and localities that impose sales taxes directly benefit from wedding spending. The national average state and local sales tax rate from June through June increased from % to %.To estimate sales tax revenue comparable to wedding spending since Obergefell, we calculated a national annual average united state and local tax rate for each year between and , weighted by the proportion of the national increase in the number of married same-sex couples that occurred in each state between to For these years, we could directly rely on the ACS’ state-level estimates for the amplify in married lgbtq+ then applied this annual national weighted tax rate to the combined spending by same-sex couples and their guests for each year. The annual sales tax revenue amounts were adjusted to dollarsand added together to estimate sales tax revenue akin to wedding spending over the 10 years.
Based on these calculations, we estimate that weddings of same-sex couples own generated $ million in state and loc
This June the National Archives is celebrating National Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual person, and Transgender Pride Month, which honors the important contributions that LGBTQ+ Americans have made to United States history and tradition. Visit the National Archives website for more information on our related holdings. Today’s post comes from Michael Steffen in the National Archives History Office.
On June 26, , the United States celebrates the fourth anniversary of the Obergefell v. Hodges conclusion, a landmark civil rights case in which the Supreme Court ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples and that all states must recognize marriages in other states regardless of sexual orientation.
While it is important to celebrate this ruling as a victory for the LGBTQ+ group, it is equally important to remember the arduous path it took to achieve that triumph. The road to marriage equality was paved by the cases that preceded it. The earliest same-sex marriage case to be reviewed by the Supreme Court was Baker v. Nelson ().
On May 18, , University