by Alli Rodenhauser (whyzz writer) >> more about the author

Same sex marriage (a marriage between two men or two women, as opposed to a marriage between a man and a woman) has had a notable and constantly changing history in the United States. While marriage is legally defined in the U.S. as only being between a man and a woman, the idea of same sex marriages has been in the news for almost ten years.

Because of personal or religious beliefs, some people do not think that two men or two women should be allowed to marry each other, while other people believe they should be allowed to because of First Amendment Rights. Here is a look at a few of the main ideas when it comes to same sex marriage in the U.S.


What is a marriage?
While people marry to show their love and commitment to each other, a marriage itself is actually a legal contact. Couples in the U.S. who marry have more than 1,000 rights and benefits compared to ones who don't: joint responsibility for their children, tax breaks, immigration rights, medical decisions...among many others.

In 1996, President Clinton approved the creation of a law called "The Defense of Marriage Act," which stated that a marriage recognized by the federal government could only be between a man and a woman. Because this law exists, even if a state allows same sex marriage, the United States government is not obligated to recognize it.

Some states allow "civil unions" or "domestic partnerships" instead of marriage as an option for gay couples. The rights for these arrangements vary depending on the state where the couple lives and some people believe that this is an acceptable compromise. However, the laws are not as wide-reaching as a marriage, more complicated to enforce (such as requiring a lawyer to write up official documents that would just be given to a married couple) and, because of the Defense of Marriage Act, are not recognized outside of the state where the civil union or domestic partnership took place.


Same Sex Marriage in Different States
Vermont was the first state to allow same sex couples rights by offering civil unions in 2000; as of June 2009, fourteen states recognize some form of civil union or domestic partnership. In 2003 Massachusetts became the first state to allow same sex marriage at the state level (though still not recognized by the federal government!), quickly joined by Connecticut, and Iowa. Later in 2009 Vermont and Maine will begin to allow gay marriages, and New Hampshire will allow them beginning in 2010. In addition, while the actual areas do not perform same sex marriages, New York and Washington D.C. will recognize one from another state.


Proposition 8
In June 2008, California passed a bill that made same sex marriage legal. In November of the same year, after almost 18,000 marriages had been performed, an amendment called "Proposition 8" passed during the 2008 presidential election. Proposition 8 changed the California constitution to say that only a marriage between one man and one woman was legal in the state. This news got a lot of media attention due to supporters in Hollywood, but that did not keep the amendment from going into effect immediately following the election.

Even though same sex marriage is no longer legal in California, the state promised to continue to recognize the marriages performed from when it was.


Did you know?
While the U.S. currently does not allow same sex marriage, seven countries around the world do — Belgium, South Africa, Canada, Spain, Sweden, Norway, and the Netherlands, which was the first to recognize them beginning in 2001

Exploration
Same sex marriage is very much a hot topic in the U.S. that encourages all sorts of different opinions. What are your thoughts on this issue? Perhaps you can write a letter to your State Representative and let them know!