Equality for Same-Sex Couples: The Legal Recognition of Gay Partnerships in Europe and the United States
Yuval Merin
Abstract
During the past three decades, nations all over the world have been debating whether to allow same-sex couples to marry, or at least grant these couples various rights associated with marriage. This book presents a comparative study of the legal regulation of same-sex partnerships worldwide, as well as a unique survey of the status of same-sex couples in Europe. The author begins by providing a historical overview of the transformation of marriage from antiquity to the present, and then identifies and critically compares four principal models for the legal regulation and recognition of same-se ... More
During the past three decades, nations all over the world have been debating whether to allow same-sex couples to marry, or at least grant these couples various rights associated with marriage. This book presents a comparative study of the legal regulation of same-sex partnerships worldwide, as well as a unique survey of the status of same-sex couples in Europe. The author begins by providing a historical overview of the transformation of marriage from antiquity to the present, and then identifies and critically compares four principal models for the legal regulation and recognition of same-sex partnerships: civil marriage, registered partnership, domestic partnership, and cohabitation. He concludes that all of the models except civil marriage discriminate against gays and lesbians just as the “separate but equal” doctrine discriminated against African Americans; thus, so-called alternatives to marriage, even if they provide the same rights and benefits as marriage, are inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional.
Keywords:
same-sex marriage,
legal regulation,
civil marriage,
registered partnership,
domestic partnership,
cohabitation,
separate but equal,
African Americans,
constitutionality
Bibliographic Information
Print publication date: 2002 |
Print ISBN-13: 9780226520315 |
Published to Chicago Scholarship Online: March 2013 |
DOI:10.7208/chicago/9780226520339.001.0001 |