Gay Marriage Facts
Discover the different gay marriage facts and learn more about same sex marriage
Gay Marriage Facts – What you need to know about same-sex marriage
It used to be men and women. Now, society considers a third sex which we commonly refer to as gays. Over the years, gay people are fighting for recognition in the society as well as allowing them to marry whoever they choose based on one’s constitutional guarantee of equality. While some conservatives oppose to this idea, there are many libertarians who are backing up this advocacy, even if it takes bringing this up to Congress or the Highest Court of the Land.
Definition of Gay Marriage
 
Also known as same sex marriage, gay marriage is a marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or gender identity. In other words, it is the union between man and man or woman and woman according to their own individual liberty and personal preference.
Marriage among gay can be performed either through a civil ceremony or religious setting as there are various religious groups that support gay marriage and allow same sex marriage ceremonies.
10 Facts about Gay Marriage
Marriage is supposed to be a union between man and woman. But that is not the case here. Over the years, more countries are slowly recognizing and legalizing the same sex marriage and even providing benefits and equal access similar to marriages between man and woman. The following shows the different facts on gay marriage:
1)      Recognition of same sex marriage as a civil right has become a political, moral, social and religious issue among a lot of countries. That is why the first laws allowing same sex marriage were only enacted during early 2000.
2)      Netherlands was the first country to allow gay marriage when same sex marriage bill was passed and became a law on April 1, 2001 with 3.6% of the total number of marriages attributed to gay couples. However, the number of gay marriage dropped over the years with only 1,100 couples getting married on 2005.
3)      As of April 2013, there are only twelve countries that legally recognize and allow same sex couples to marry – Argentina, Belgium, Uruguay, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, South Africa, Iceland, Spain, Netherlands, Portugal and Norway.
4)      Israel, Curacao, Aruba and Brazil acknowledge same sex marriage, however do not allow ceremonies to be conducted. In Brazil, civil unions among gay couples can be converted into marriage.
5)      In the United States of America, only 9 states plus the District of Columbia allows gay couple to get married – Washington, Connecticut, Vermont, Iowa, New York, Maine, New Hampshire, Maryland and Massachusetts. Among these states, Massachusetts is the first state to allow gay marriage in 2004 with the Supreme Judicial Court ruling that it is unconstitutional to bar same sex couples from marrying.
6)      Marriage among gay couples can only be performed in Mexico City and Quintana Roo although the Mexican federal government accepts