This legislation would uphold the principle that the federal government should not deny gay and lesbian couples the same rights and legal protections as straight couples.
She says that since her church began actively welcoming gay members, it has attracted both gay and straight couples, keen to be part of an open congregation.
Gay couples getting hitched are older than straight ones: men are 43 on average and women 41, compared with 36 and 34 among straight couples (including those remarrying).
The placement of a hand or positioning of the groom contains assumptions about physicality and gender roles that often don't apply to same-sex couples or even nontraditional straight couples.
Rebecca Nash, 22, and Hope Stubbings, 19, said they booked a double room at the Brunswick Square Hotel but when they arrived they were told it only accepted straight couples and families.
In one case, several parties have challenged a federal law known as the Defense of Marriage Act (Doma), a measure that denies federal benefits available for straight couples to legally married same-sex couples.
Known in France as the PACS (pacte civil de solidarite), the civil union agreement can be entered into by gay or straight couples and confers many but not all of the rights of marriage.
Known in France as the PACS, or pacte civil de solidarite, the civil union agreement can be entered into by same-sex or straight couples and confers many but not all of the rights of marriage.
Texas (2003), Kennedy sided with the liberal justices in ruling that a Texas law banning certain types of sexual activity by gay couples which were completely legal for straight couples violated the equal protection clause and, therefore, was unconstitutional.
FORBES: Gay Marriage Ban Declared Unconstitutional By 9th Circuit Court Of Appeals
If the right to -- if the opportunity to enjoy the same rights, same-sex couples or straight couples or whatever, is a basic civil right, how can you square that with saying we leave it up to the states?
"I have seen a growing number (of) straight and same-sex couples thrive on the infamous 'monogamish' agreement, " psychotherapist Jean Malpas says.
But the Arkansas Family Council, a Christian conservative group, decided to broaden the ban to cover all cohabiting couples, gay or straight.
Following the state attorney-general's advice, three justices have chosen not to marry any couples, gay or straight, but to fulfill their other duties.
But town clerks have co-operated with the paperwork, tax offices have ensured that gay couples are treated like straight ones, insurance companies have been told not to discriminate.
On February 2nd eight couples four straight and denied the right to register a civil partnership, and four gay, denied the right to marry filed suit in the European Court of Human Rights against the government, alleging discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
In its 2011 School Climate report, the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network found that same-sex couples were frequently not allowed to attend school dances together or were penalized for doing so, such as being ineligible for "couple discounts" on tickets.
On Wednesday, the justices will consider the federal law that prevents legally married gay couples from receiving a range of benefits afforded straight married Americans.
Gays who have children and a quarter of gay couples do gravitate towards them for the same reasons that straight parents do: better schools, bigger gardens, peace and quiet.
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