Thursday, August 21, 2014

The Process Of Conducting A Same Sex Legal Marriage

By Linda Ruiz


To every person, marriage is a crucial step of life. This is because it affects both private and public life in many ways. Getting married in a same sex legal marriage is difficult due to numerous controversies surrounding same gender unions.

To start with, everyone has an opinion about gay and lesbian nuptials. Those in favor claim that it is a basic human right for one to choose their life long partner of their choice. Those who do not favor suggest that is a complete change to the family institution based on religion and morality. Irrespective of this, the modern society has increasingly made same sex couple more acceptable. In view of this trend, most people say that legalization of gay unions is not a matter of if but when.

Only some parts of the world recognize unions of similar gender. In other parts it is illegal while others have not yet made their stand. Some of the states in the US have legalized these unions either by popular votes, acts of the legislature or courts. Some states however have completely illegalized them through statutes and constitutions.

In other states it is somewhat acceptable to marry a person of your gender. This is under the umbrella of civil unions and domestic partnerships. This is a type of legal frame work that seeks to protect same gender couples though not offering the full benefits of a union. For this reason, the gay and lesbian community have strongly opposed them claiming that it is denying these people rights and treating them as second class citizens.

For the states where marriage between couples of similar gender is not prohibited, the process of formalizing the union is quite easy. A couple first applies for a license to carry out a civil marriage. This is obtained from city hall or a court. Where the religion allows then marriage can be formalized in a religious setting. It is important that both of you are eligible according to the law that is be of age and not blood related.

This is followed by submission of an application form and also a fee for processing. When a few days have passed usually three, you will receive the license. This means that you are now free to solemnize your matrimony through a ceremony. When the wedding is complete, officiating individual signs the license and indicates time and place of wedding. The license is then sent to the court where it was issued.

When you do not live in the same country or state where you were married there are issues bound to arise. For instance, since the government does not recognize you as a couple it becomes difficult to access services meant for couples. Besides, if seeking to terminate your union it would get complicated since it is not recognized in the first place.

There are countless legal problems that same sex couples face. One of them is that they cannot adopt children where the state does not tolerate same sex parents. For all these reasons, it is very beneficial to talk to a lawyer before, during and even after a same gender matrimony to know your legal provisions.




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