Conflict of Marriage Laws - Same-sex Marriage

Same-sex Marriage

In a Chinese conception of marriage, a marriage is defined as being a relationship in which unions of various surnames are established in order to increase the lines of succession and property values. While most countries in 2010 do not recognize marriage between two people of the same sex, several states have fully legalized same-sex marriages, and even more have expressed a willingness to consider allowing individuals of the same gender to enter into civil unions and domestic partnerships. In addition to several European countries such as Spain and the Scandinavian states, as well as Canada and several states of the United States of America, Mexico City and Argentina are recent areas allowing same-sex marriage.

On the issue of transsexualism, the European Court of Human Rights in Goodwin v UK and I v UK (July 2002) concluded that there is no justification for barring a transsexual from enjoying the right to marry. In Bellinger v Bellinger UKHL 21, (2003) Times, 11 April the English courts held that the non-recognition of change of gender for the purposes of marriage in s 11(c) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 was incompatible with Convention rights. But the House of Lords did not consider that the issues raised in the case were suitable for determination by courts and left the matter for Parliament, which has now enacted the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and matches the majority of European states in permitting marriage in the adoptive gender role. The same rights may be allowed in Australia, Canada, and some other states.