Same-sex weddings. What is same-sex marriage and why is it being legalized in Russia? Pros and cons of legalizing gay marriage

Same-sex marriage is a family union between persons of the same sex.

The 1994 UN Cairo International Conference on Population and Development played an important role in the process of legalizing the “same-sex family” in the world community. The Cairo Conference approved the Program of Action for Population Control. Principle 9 of the Program established the equality and equality of different types of sexual unions, including same-sex unions.

Netherlands

The Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. A law allowing same-sex marriage and the adoption of children by such families has been in effect since April 2001.
To exercise this right, however, certain restrictions have been introduced. Homosexuals can enter into a civil marriage through a regular ceremony at City Hall, just like opposite-sex couples. When entering into such marriages between people who are not Dutch nationals, one of them must be permanently and legally resident in the Netherlands. Mayors also have the right to refuse to register such marriages.

In accordance with this law, homosexuals can marry in the generally accepted official way, as well as get married, but church parishes retain the right to refuse them this ceremony.

Portugal

On May 17, 2010, Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva decided to ratify a bill authorizing the country. The document, developed by the ruling Socialist Party, received the support of all political forces of the center-left spectrum and was approved in parliament in early January 2010. The bill was opposed by right-wing politicians who insisted that the issue should be put to a national referendum.

Iceland

On June 11, 2010, the Icelandic Parliament passed a law. Parliament adopted the document unanimously. Iceland, where homosexual relationships are very tolerant, has become the first country in the world whose leader is a person who openly declares his non-traditional sexual orientation. In 2009, Johana Sigurðardóttir, who does not hide her homosexuality, was elected Prime Minister of the country.

In the United States, representatives of sexual minorities began to fight for the right to marry each other in the 1970s, in the wake of mass movements for the civil rights of racial minorities. This idea, which was initially categorically rejected by American society, gradually gained the right to life. In 2002, after the European Court of Human Rights spoke in favor of registering transgender marriages, a new wave of debate and litigation arose in the United States, this time centered on the acceptability of gay marriage and its compliance with the US Constitution. In 2000, Vermont became the first American state to allow civil unions between gays and lesbians.

On March 3, 2010, gay marriage became legal in the District of Columbia metropolitan area.

Mexico

On December 21, 2009, the legislature of the Mexican capital Mexico City passed a law that allows same-sex marriage.
Mexico City has become the first city in Latin America where you can officially register a marriage.

Argentina

On July 21, 2010, Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner signed a law approved by the National Congress.

In 2002, Argentina became the first Latin American country to officially allow same-sex couples to live in civil unions, but they did not have all the rights of a heterosexual married couple. In particular, they could not adopt children.

Brazil

In May 2011, Brazil's Supreme Court allowed same-sex civil unions for the first time, followed by a ruling in October 2011 that made same-sex marriage possible in the country. However, there is no federal law in the country allowing same-sex marriage.

The bill will now be debated in the House of Lords.

The passage of the Same-Sex Marriage Act will allow gay couples to marry in both civil and church ceremonies. At the same time, the latter.

Uruguay

On April 11, 2013, the Lower House of Parliament of Uruguay approved the bill. The document was previously approved by the upper house of parliament. The new law will come into force after it is signed by the country's President Jose Mujica, who has always supported the rights of sexual minorities.

France

On April 10, 2013, the French Senate approved the rule on.
12 April French Senate allowing same-sex couples to register marriage and adopt children.
The law is expected to come into force in early summer, but first it must be signed by the country's President Francois Hollande and published by the country's official publication, the Journal officiel.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

Often in the park I notice couples consisting of two men pushing a stroller with a baby. Perhaps they are just friends or brothers. But the picture immediately appears in my head that they are “husband and wife.” They have a special look...

Which countries allow same-sex marriage?

Same-sex marriage is a family union consisting of persons of the same sex (boy - boy, girl - girl).

This topic is quite sensitive, but it cannot be ignored. Moreover, recently people with non-traditional orientation are increasingly making themselves known through rallies and parades.

I have a twofold attitude towards such people. On the one hand, I don’t care who sleeps with whom, because everyone has their own vision of happiness. But on the other hand, no matter how hard I try to convince myself that everyone can live as they want, I still feel that this is wrong. Not Christian.

However, a number of countries have already officially adopted a law allowing same-sex marriages to be registered and not be embarrassed. These countries include:

• Canada;
• Argentina;
• Uruguay;
• Brazil;
• Mexico;
• Iceland;
• Sweden.

And this is not the entire list.

I noticed an interesting feature - all permissions to create same-sex families began to be given after 2001. That is, starting from the 21st century. In this I see a connection with the fact that people used to be less depraved than they are now.

Although there have been “blue” and “pink” people at all times, they have never declared themselves so loudly, and certainly did not get married and have children. In the last century, this was considered a shame.

In the modern world, society has become so self-confident and free that even homosexuality becomes almost a matter of pride.

The Church's attitude to same-sex marriage

It is strange to me that some Catholic churches in England perform wedding ceremonies for non-traditional couples.

Despite the fact that in general, Christian, Catholic and other faiths are categorically against such marriages. There are even lines in the Bible where God tells men not to lie with men as they do with women, for this is an abomination.

You can have different attitudes towards same-sex marriage and homosexuality in general, but to deny their existence would be stupid, to say the least. It is known for certain that various homosexual relationships appeared almost with the advent of man himself. In this article we will try to analyze the history of same-sex marriage and its current situation from the most neutral point of view.

Same-sex marriage for men

According to historians, the first same-sex marriages for men appeared in ancient Rome. Another thing is that homosexual relationships in ancient times were often very different from modern ones.

Any sexual relationship at that time was characterized by bipolarity - an active, dominant, “male” role on the one hand and a passive, submissive, “female” role on the other. Roman and Greek men did not lose their social status until they accepted a passive, submissive role in relationships. Thus, sexual contact with persons of both sexes was acceptable for free male citizens, as long as it did not go beyond an active “penetrative” role. This meant that men were free to engage in sexual activity with other men in a dominant role without losing their masculinity.

According to some sources, 13 of the first 14 emperors of Rome were homosexual or bisexual. Moreover, historians note that Emperor Nero married men twice, and at one of the weddings he played the role of a wife. Despite all of the above, scientists tend to believe that same-sex marriage was popular mainly only among the upper classes of ancient Rome, and was much less common among ordinary people.

Same-sex marriage was also allowed in some Indian tribes, but the marriage itself was viewed from a slightly different angle. The Indians believed that marriage, first of all, was a union of two souls, and only then a union of two bodies. Some tribes believed that there were people with two souls living inside them: a female and a male. In such a situation, a man could choose a woman's soul and marry another man.

Same-sex marriage for women

It just so happens that throughout history, female same-sex marriages have always been less accepted by society and were less common than male same-sex marriages. This is why there are very few historical documents describing marriages between two women.

Female same-sex unions were common among some African tribes. Marriages between two women were mainly to help widows who, after the death of their husbands, did not want to remarry men or return to their parental families. In this case, the widow could take a woman as her wife and become the head of the family and the successor of her family. It is interesting that a woman taken as a wife had the right to become pregnant from another man, while the born child was still raised in a family of two women.

Third gender

“Third gender” are people who, either by choice or by social consensus, are identified as neither male nor female. People who consider themselves to be “gender neutral” are found in many cultures, and often also have the right to create their own families.

Mushe- Mexican men in women's clothing. In the Zapotec culture of Oaxaca (southern Mexico), mushes are considered the third gender. They do women's work - sewing, embroidering, trading in the market. It is normal for local men to live with both “biological” women and mushe. The Mushe themselves can also marry both women and men. Since 2009, some regions of Mexico have officially allowed citizens to enter into same-sex marriages.

Hijras- representatives of the third gender in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

For the most part, hijras are men who dress and behave like women, call themselves by a female name, but do not identify themselves as one or the other gender. According to custom, a person becomes a true hijra by undergoing a ritual of castration, usually at the hands of another more senior member of the community (the operation is considered illegal in India and is carried out in private homes in makeshift conditions). The number of hijras, according to various estimates, ranges from 50 thousand to 5 million people. Although the Supreme Court of India officially recognized hijras as a third gender in April 2014, their same-sex marriages are generally not recognized by law.

It would be a huge remiss to write about the third gender and not mention its Thai representatives. Katoi– Thai men who changed their gender to female. Katoi appeared relatively recently, in the 60s of the last century, during the Vietnam War. Their appearance was due to the lack of work for men in the country, and the shortage of girls in brothels for American soldiers. The “third gender” in Thailand quickly became a common phenomenon, and now many popular models, singers and movie stars are classified as katoeys, and the country even holds beauty contests among women and katoeys. Despite the large number of people with non-traditional sexual orientation, same-sex marriage is prohibited in Thailand.

Based on Livescience, Wikipedia and Oneequalworld.

Late last week in Ireland A referendum was held on the legalization of same-sex marriage. Despite the fact that Ireland is considered a conservative country with a strong influence of the Catholic Church, the vast majority of Irish people are in favor of introducing a corresponding amendment to the constitution. The step towards equalizing the rights of homosexuals with heterosexuals was met with nationwide jubilation, but not everywhere in the world the joy of the Irish is shared. We understand where and how same-sex couples are treated and what this is connected with.

Olga Strakhovskaya

Why should same-sex couples get married?

To answer this question, you must first decide on your attitude towards homosexuality in general. Modern science, and sexology in particular, agrees that homosexuality is not a disease or a deviation, but one of the forms of human sexual orientation, equivalent to heterosexuality and bisexuality. It is impossible to “get infected”; it is not associated with sex or gender, and is also caused not by upbringing and the environment, but by genetics and characteristics of biological development, including the influence of hormonal factors. The exception is situational homosexuality - when people enter into same-sex relationships not based on their sexual preferences, but forcedly, for example, after being in a same-sex environment for a long time, where there is simply no partner of the opposite sex. However, this does not make them homosexuals: there is even a term “heterosexual men who have sex with men.”

This is why the law on “propaganda of same-sex relationships” is simply absurd: it is impossible to become a homosexual under the influence of fashion or suggestion. The gradations of a person's sexual orientation are illustrated by the Kinsey scale, where zero is exclusively heterosexual orientation, and 6 is exclusively homosexual. There are no accurate statistics on the number of homosexuals and bisexuals in the world: the data ranges from 5 to 7 percent, which in any case makes them a minority, but is not a criterion for considering them worse or better than others.

This means that gays and lesbians should have the same fundamental rights as heterosexuals (contrary to popular belief, they do not demand any special rights for themselves), including the right to legalize their relationships. The popular position “we recognize you and don’t touch you, do what you want behind closed doors” is essentially a hypocritical half-measure in terms of respect for human rights. However, marriage has not only an ethical, but also a legal side. The absence of a marriage certificate can create the same difficulties for same-sex couples as for heterosexual ones, but such couples do not have the opportunity to solve them by legalizing their relationship. The main problem remains that partners who are not married are not considered family members from the point of view of the law and subjects of family legal relations.

Humorous video pokes fun at popular fear that legalizing gay marriage will lead to the collapse of the traditional family

In many countries, marriage provides a lot of social bonuses, and its absence - on the contrary. For example, one of the partners may not be allowed to see the other or his child in the hospital; moreover, formally, a “stranger” does not even have the right to receive information about his partner’s health in the event of an emergency. Partners are not protected by the right not to testify against their spouse, not to mention the sensitive issue of child custody. For example, according to Russian law, only one partner in a homosexual couple can be considered a parent, so the second social parent, by law, does not have the same rights and responsibilities in raising a common child. Moreover, in the event of the death of the official parent, his partner will lose to the relatives of the deceased in the matter of custody.

Some matters can be covered by a civil contract or will, but if one is not drawn up, the deceased's partner will have no rights to the inheritance. The same applies to the division of property upon separation: if there is no corresponding paper, then everything acquired jointly will go to the partner to whom it is registered. The inability to officially register their relationship deprives same-sex couples of a number of social benefits available to heterosexual families, for example in the field of credit or health insurance.

Does this mean same-sex
Will families be able to have children?

The ability to have children in homosexual couples is not directly related to their right to register a marriage and is defined differently by law in different countries. In some states where same-sex marriage is prohibited, gay couples can still have children, but this may also be affected by how the couple plans to have a child. In same-sex couples, he can be either an adopted child or a biological child of one of the partners, conceived with the help of donor sperm or carried by a surrogate mother. For example, in Germany, where there is a procedure for registering a civil partnership for same-sex couples, surrogacy is prohibited - however, German gay couples are now recognized as the official parents of children born through surrogacy abroad. In addition, there are same-sex families raising children from previous heterosexual marriages of one or both partners, so this issue is more complex than it seems.

In any case, all these situations are regulated by the legislation of each individual country. For example, in Germany and Portugal, one partner can adopt their partner's natural or adopted child, while in Russia, only one of the partners in a same-sex couple can legally be considered the child's biological or adoptive parent. Also in Russia, formally there are no obstacles to the adoption of children by same-sex Russian couples, but in fact they often face refusals. In addition, in 2013, Russia introduced a ban on adoption by foreign same-sex couples. This significantly limits the opportunities for orphans to be adopted, while American studies show that LGBT couples are more likely to adopt children with developmental disabilities and HIV-infected children.

Who is against same-sex marriage?

The church and conservatives speak out against same-sex marriage at the institutional level - that is, those who adhere to traditional values ​​and often at the same time condemn homosexuality. But there are paradoxical exceptions, like Republican Matt Salmon, who accepted his son's homosexuality but continued to oppose gay marriage. Secular conservatives tend to use their other trump cards as arguments against same-sex marriage: a threat to the institution of the traditional family and demography. For example, representatives of the state of Utah drew an amazing logical chain: they argued that the legalization of same-sex marriage would devalue heterosexual marriage, which would lead to active extramarital sex life, and, consequently, to a frantic increase in the number of abortions.

It is believed that most religions, and primarily Christianity, unanimously consider homosexuality to be a sin, and intimate relationships between partners of the same sex to be unnatural. This is not entirely true. Hinduism recognizes the biological cause of homosexuality and does not consider it a sin at all, but the Catholic Church considers homosexual intercourse a sin, but orientation does not. Translated, this means that you can be homosexual and not sin by restraining the urges of your flesh. Pope Francis even appeared on the cover of the LGBT magazine The Advocate in 2013 and received the title “Person of the Year” from the publication for calling not to marginalize homosexuals and to treat same-sex couples with greater understanding. Modern Judaism adheres to a similar position. While the Orthodox still consider homosexuality a sin, Conservative Judaism has been making strides towards the inclusion of the LGBT community in religious life since the early 90s.

In some countries, like Sweden, the church not only recognizes homosexuality, but also allows homosexual priests into its ranks. The Russian Orthodox Church, however, clearly stands on traditional positions, considering same-sex relationships “sinful damage to human nature,” and also still uses the word “homosexuality,” which has been withdrawn from circulation, emphasizing their “unhealthy” nature. Islam also considers this a sin, but in the Islamic world the legal position on the issue is heterogeneous - in a number of countries like Turkey and even Iraq, homosexual relations are not considered illegal, but in Iran it is punishable by prison or even the death penalty.

How do they view same-sex marriage in Russia?

Despite the fact that the article of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR “for sodomy” was repealed back in 1993, the situation with LGBT rights in Russia is not the most rosy and there is no talk of recognizing same-sex marriage yet. In recent years, the state has been emphasizing conservatism and strengthening traditional family values, in which secular authorities and the church support each other. In particular, Vladimir Putin spoke out against the legalization of homosexual marriages, contrasting them with traditional heterosexual ones, as “faith in God and Satan.”

Legislative initiatives like the law “banning the promotion of same-sex relationships” are in tune with the mood in society and shape them - according to a survey conducted by the Levada Center, in Russia from 2003 to 2013, sharply wary attitudes and fears towards homosexuals increased by
10 %. According to the same survey, a third of Russians consider homosexuality to be a disease that needs to be treated, 16% of the population believes that homosexuals should be isolated from society, and another 5% - that they should be physically destroyed. Accordingly, attitudes towards same-sex marriage are predominantly negative, and LGBT couples face widespread prejudice and discrimination.

In society, and not only Russian, homosexual marriages are condemned not only for political or religious reasons. For many, the problems of homosexuals are simply uninteresting, since they do not concern them personally. But there is also an elementary fear of otherness and fear that homosexuality poses some kind of threat to the usual way of life. The fight for LGBT rights is perceived by many as the “imposition” of homosexual values: opponents of same-sex marriage make the unfounded argument that the goal of LGBT rights activists is the victory of homosexual relationships over heterosexual ones. In addition, there is a dangerous tendency, caused by a desire to discredit homosexuality, to associate it with pedophilia: there are fears that the recognition of homosexual marriages will be followed by marriages with children and even animals. All this has nothing to do with the advent of Christianity, but in medieval Japan the tradition of brotherly love flourished among the samurai and even in monasteries. In Western culture, a cohesive movement for LGBT rights began to take shape only in the middle of the 20th century, however, in some countries homosexual relations were decriminalized much later: Poland and Denmark were among the first (in 1932 and 1933), Northern Ireland joined them only in 1982, Russia - in 1993. In approximately 75 of the world's 190 countries, homosexuality is still practiced, and in some of them only same-sex relationships between men are illegal. The situation is not changing towards greater freedoms everywhere: for example, in 2013 in India the ban on homosexuality, which had been lifted four years earlier, was returned, but the country remains predominantly homophobic.

However, even the abolition of articles “for sodomy” does not mean at all that same-sex marriage is immediately allowed in the country. Conservatives are in no hurry to give up their positions, so public and political discussions stretch on for many years. The wave of legalization began only in the early 2000s - the Dutch were the first in 2001. You can now formalize your relationship in 17 countries around the world, including Spain, South Africa, Iceland, Uruguay and France, as well as in 36 of the 50 American states; in Finland, a corresponding constitutional amendment will come into force in 2017. One of the most high-profile cases was the just-passed Irish referendum, where the population was asked to decide for themselves whether a corresponding amendment should be made to the Irish constitution. Meanwhile, in many countries where same-sex marriage is not yet allowed, there is an alternative for homosexuals, such as registering a “registered partnership” or “civil union.” According to opinion polls in recent years, the worst attitude towards the idea of ​​same-sex marriage is in Russia (only 5% of Russians approve of it), Romania, Lithuania, Latvia, Croatia and Bulgaria. The right to marry a same-sex partner is most supported in Holland (85%), Luxembourg (82%) and Sweden (81%).

The topic of same-sex marriage in Russia is timidly but periodically raised by members of the LGBT community. The idea of ​​legalization Such relationships cause a strong reaction in a country where Orthodoxy and Islam predominate, which categorically do not recognize such marriages. The main current regulatory act in the country regulating relations between spouses is the RF IC. It determines the conditions for concluding an official marriage. According to this article, a man and a woman who have reached the age of majority (as a general rule) can enter into a marriage relationship by mutual consent.

It is necessary to understand that the article describes the most basic situations and does not take into account a number of technical issues. To solve your particular problem, get legal advice on housing issues by calling the hotlines:

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The reasons why a marriage cannot be registered are indicated in. It is this article that is the clue in the current legislation that Russian citizens who want to officially register their same-sex marriage. The text of Article 14 does not contain a direct legal ban on concluding such a union, but it also does not provide permission for the official recognition of such a family.

In a situation where registry offices refuse to register same-sex marriages, one high-profile case was noted by the press. In St. Petersburg, a marriage between a woman and a man who was in a state of gender reassignment was officially registered. Both spouses came to registration in white wedding dresses.

To solve their problems, Russian LGBT representatives register their relationships in those countries where Same-sex marriage is allowed. Such marriages are not recognized in Russia. denies citizens in same-sex marriages the opportunity to adopt children within the country. LGBT representatives consider this to be discrimination against their rights. From time to time they file lawsuits in various courts to protect their rights to create a same-sex family, and receive refusals to satisfy them. Existing statistics indicate that negative rel O sewing the tendency towards such marriages in society only intensifies over the years.

The good news for foreign citizens - representatives of the LGBT community - is the fact that they can legalize relationships in the embassies of their countries if such marriages are allowed there.

1994 UN Cairo International Conference

Non-traditional relationships between men and women are not a product of the 21st or 20th century. They have existed in people's lives at all times. But only after UN Cairo conference, which had international status and was dedicated to the population of the planet, an active process began to legalize same-sex marriage. This conference took place in Cairo in 1994. The Catholic Church strongly condemned same-sex weddings, although many of its priests later found themselves at the center of homosexual scandals.

The Russian delegation was on the list of countries taking part in the conference. One of the principles adopted at the conference was the equality and equivalence of same-sex marriage in relation to traditional unions. This principle has received support from many European countries and the USA.

Countries that allow same-sex marriage

The first same-sex marriage was officially registered in 2001. This happened in the Netherlands, which took into account the opinion of the participants in the Cairo conference and recognized the principles established at it. Other countries followed the Netherlands. In 2003, a similar decision was made by Belgium, in 2005 by Canada and Spain, and in 2006 by South Africa. Norway and Sweden later joined in 2009. 2010 added three new countries to them - Argentina, Portugal and Iceland. The list of 20 countries also includes Denmark, Finland, Uruguay, Brazil, France, New Zealand, the USA, Luxembourg and even Ireland and Colombia. Same-sex marriage has a controversial status in Costa Rica. In Germany, same-sex marriage is recognized as a civil partnership. A similar practice of registering same-sex unions has existed in this country since 2001. During this time it contained more than 35 thousand similar relationships between LGBT members. Many other countries in the world have followed the same path as Germany. Among them are Austria, Andorra, Hungary, Greece, Switzerland and even Venezuela. The difference between same-sex marriage and civil partnership lies in the clear legal limitation of rights in the second case of formalizing the relationship. For each country, such restrictions have their own form.