BREAKING NEWS

Sunday 18 May 2008

California Marriage Breakthrough

Last week Ellen DeGeneres announced her intention to 'marry' her long term partner. It was the first time she could make such an announcement thanks to a decision of the Californian Supreme Court. The full judgement can be viewed as a PDF file at: http://courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S147999.PDF

According to Pink News 'the court ruled that lesbian and gay couples are entitled to the same fundamental right to marry as heterosexual couples as protected by the California constitution.' This is a major watershed judgment and was welcomed by many activists in the US. What I found fascinating about the judgment was the reliance it placed on academic discussion. Early on in the judgment the debate around terminology is examined - i.e what exactly is it we are seeking - domestic partnership etc. It struck me as a far better course than the one taken in the UK where there was virtually no discussion before the introduction of Civil Partnerships. The journey may be taking a long time in the US but the end product could be better than the European version.

Read the story on Pink news at: http://www.pinknews.co.uk/news/articles/2005-7653.html

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