Subject: MARRIAGE PRIMER
From: [email-masked]
Date: Mon, 23 Sep 1996 22:32:15 -0400

Marriage Primer
(revised 9/96)

Gay people have been involved in relationships for as long as history can
record.  Depending on the cultural and legal environments in which they've
lived, these couples have been accorded various forms and degrees of
recognition; legal, social, and spiritual.  In the modern United States,
legal and religious recognition of couples are separate and distinct  issues.
 Marriage licenses are granted by the state; spiritual ceremonies, though
important to many people, are not required in order to obtain the civil right
of marriage.  In many other countries, this separation between church and
state is not nearly as clear.  For example, in Denmark, the church is
"enmeshed" in the legal right of marriage in a way that's difficult for the
American perspective to understand.  But we must be clear up front that what
we are working for is civil marriage rights for gay couples.  

Marriage laws are a state-by-state matter in the United States.  There are no
federal statutes directly defining marriage rights, although some do relate
to them; i.e., for immigration and other purposes.  Differences between
marriage laws in different states are generally quite small; marriages
recognized in one are nearly always valid in another, except at the margins.
 For example, in some states you can marry your second cousin; in others you
cannot.  In a few states, anti-gay provisions in the marriage laws are
actually explicit; in most, though, it will be up to the courts, and perhaps
the state legislatures, to more clearly define whether gay people will be
able to marry.   The federal "Defense of Marriage Act" may make the
recognition of gay marriages more difficult in some states.  

No state or country in the world currently has full marriage rights for gay
couples.  Even in nations that come closest, such as Holland, there are such
major exceptions as having the marriage recognized outside the country, the
inability to adopt and raise children, etc.  In May, 1993, the Hawaii Supreme
Court ruled that marriage rights must be extended to same-sex couples unless
the state can prove that continuing to discriminate against them is
justifiable legal test, which the state is overwhelmingly likely to fail.  If Hawaii does
eventually begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples, as is expected
sometime around 1998, it will be the first modern jurisdiction to fully
extend this right to gay couples.    

When the final Hawaii ruling does come down, the questions will then be:
 Will other states recognize these marriages, and, will other states begin
allowing same-sex marriages to be contracted in their own states.  "Test
cases" will then be brought in select states, chosen based on complex legal
factors most likely to ensure victory.  The "ideal" would be couples who had
lived in Hawaii for a very long time, and then moved to, say, Massachusetts,
because of employment or other personally compelling reasons.  Such couples
will then likely want to establish the validity of their marriage in their
new state, which they can do through judicial proceedings.  Once it has been
established that the "test" couple can marry, all same-sex couples will then
have the right.  State legislatures will also get involved in the issue, as
has already happened in several states, either in favor or against same-sex
marriage rights.  What will then happen in individual states will be the
result of a complex interplay between the courts, the legislatures, gay
leaders and individuals, and public opinion.
--------------------------------------------------------
The Forum on the Right to Marriage (FORM)
Box 8033 JFK Station
Boston, MA 02114
(617) 868-FORM
[email-masked]
HTTP://www.calico-company.com/formboston
America Online:  Keyword: GLCF Library.  New Files -or- Legal Issues -or-
Organizations

Materials available:
Flier (new) *
General Quotations
Hawaii Primer 
How You Can Help
Ithaca Primer
Law Chart
Law Review Summary
Legal History 
Legal Summary
Marriage Primer     
Press Kit *
Resources
Timeline     *available soon

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FORM is a national grassroots organization primarily
engaged in education and outreach concerning the issue of
same-sex marriage.

FORM provides resources and training to similar locally
based groups throughout country.

FORM exists as well to facilitate and support the efforts 
of individuals, whether legal or legislative, that advance
the cause of same-sex marriage in the United States.

When feasible, FORM will work in concert with gay and
lesbian political groups to optimize organized efforts to
attain same-sex marriage rights.
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