Gay Movement

In the United Kingdom the Church of England has, after long debate, officially banned blessings of gay couples, and in the United States, where several states have specifically outlawed same-sex marriage, often by popular referenda. The state of Mississippi passed a ban on same sex marriage with 86% of the vote, the highest percentage seen on a statewide level. On the other side, Lutheran churches in Netherlands, Sweden and some Lutheran churches of the Evangelical Church in Germany allow blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples. In other countries (such as Finland) such ceremonies are discouraged and rarely performed by the church. The city of San Francisco in 2004 began sanctioning same sex marriages despite their being explicitly illegal in California. The Supreme Court of California declared that the unions were null and void. In 2005, a bill AB19, changing California law to let same sex couples marry, was passed by both houses of the California State Legislature and then vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.

In Netherlands gay and lesbian couples who are Dutch can now marry and adopt with the full privileges enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. In Germany gay and lesbian couples may register their partnerships, obtain the same inheritance rights as married couples, and may share the same last name since 2001. Some rights are still withheld. In Canada in 2002 three Superior Court judges ruled unanimously that the laws of Ontario and of Canada which prohibit gay couples from marrying is unconstitutional. The court gave the governments two years to change the wording of their laws related to marriage. In Switzerland same-sex couples can now register with the government and obtain all of the legal rights as opposite-sex married couples since 2002.