In the late 1990s, Alaska, Nebraska, and Nevada amended their state constitutions to ban same-sex marriage. These constitutional amendments were intended to take the issue out of the hands of the judges. Conservatives, in particular, were concerned that in the absence of constitutional language specifically defining marriage, many judges would take it upon themselves to interpret other constitutional provisions broadly to allow for the right to same-sex marriage. Over time, this concern would prompt voters in more than two dozen other states to approve similar constitutional amendments. The court`s decision comes just a month after voters in three states — Maine, Maryland and Washington — approved voting initiatives to legalize same-sex marriage. On the same day, 6. In November 2012, Minnesota voters rejected an attempt to add language to the state constitution banning same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage is now or will soon be legal in the District of Columbia and nine states: Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Washington. At the same time, 30 states have added language to their constitutions prohibiting same-sex marriage. (See graphic: State Guidelines on Same-Sex Marriage.) Most social conservatives and other opponents of same-sex marriage argue that marriage between a man and a woman is the foundation of a healthy society because it leads to stable families and, ultimately, children who become productive adults. Allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry will radically redefine and further weaken marriage, at a time when the institution is already in serious difficulty due to high divorce rates and a large and growing number of illegitimate births.1 Moreover, many predict that the right to marry will eventually lead same-sex couples to: that persons living in polygamous and other non-traditional relationships are also granted the right to marry.

In addition to wanting to defend the legal principles of non-discrimination and equal treatment, proponents say there are very practical reasons to fight for what they call «marriage equality.» They point out, for example, that same-sex couples who have been together for years, if not decades, often find themselves deprived of the basic rights and privileges currently enjoyed by heterosexual couples who marry legally – from the division of health and pension benefits to hospital visitation rights. In Utah, one of the states that has both a constitutional amendment and a law banning same-sex marriage, Democratic Senator Derek Kitchen is trying to codify marriage equality. He «opened» a bill on the subject. (In Utah, opening a bill means that he has officially announced his intention to introduce the bill, is drafting the bill, and is soliciting co-sponsors.) In December 2000, the Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage, when the Dutch parliament, by a three-to-one majority, passed a landmark law authorizing the practice. The legislation gives same-sex couples the right to marry, divorce and adopt children. The law amended a single sentence of the current Civil Marriage Act, which now reads: «A marriage may be contracted by two persons of different or same sex.» Supporters of same-sex marriage rejoice Friday outside the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. after the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling on same-sex marriage. The Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry in all 50 states. Alex Wong/Getty Images Hide the caption In 2009, two Emory University economists linked the passage of state bans on same-sex marriage in the United States to an increase in HIV/AIDS infection rates.

[160] [161] The study linked the adoption of the ban on same-sex marriage in one state to an increase in the annual rate of HIV in that state by about 4 cases per 100,000 people. Both sides of the same-sex marriage debate have scored important victories in recent years. In February 2012, the U.S. 9th Court of Appeals gave same-sex marriage advocates a major victory when it upheld a lower court ruling that a California referendum banning same-sex marriage (Proposition 8) was unconstitutional.