United States legalises same-sex marriage in historic Supreme Court vote
ON 26 June 2015, the Supreme Court of America inherently legalised marriage between same-sex couples in all 50 states.
The decision, which comes after years of campaigning by gay rights advocates, ruled in favour of adding same-sex marriage to the American constitution 5-4.
As the Supreme Court is the highest court in America, the decision has overruled any previous ban on same-sex marriage in any state.
The Court’s ruling stated that (same-sex couple’s) hope is “not to be condemned”.
“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family.
“In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death.
“It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves.
“Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law.
“The Constitution grants them that right. The judgment of the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit is reversed.
“It is so ordered.”
The addition to the American constitution has not only allowed same-sex couples to be married, but be officially recognised as a parent or spouse on birth and death certificates.
But the question still remains as to when Australia will do the same.
Currently, the Australian Federal Government is a conservative and liberal government that is firm on its decision to not allow same-sex couples to be married in Australia.
But recently opposition leader Bill Shorten put forward a bill that would legalise same-sex marriage, however nearly half the room was empty; the Coalition side of the House of Representatives had only a handful of government MP’s.
List of countries where same-sex marriage is legal
Argentina
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
Denmark
(Denmark Proper, Greenland)
Finland
France
Iceland
Ireland
Luxembourg
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
(England and Wales, Scotland, Pitcairn Islands)
United States
Uruguay