Family Structures: Examining the Global Trend Towards Same-Sex Marriage Shiulie Ghosh - Al Jazeera
go to original January 28, 2013

We examine the global trend towards same-sex marriage and its implications on traditional family structures. Discussing this on Inside Story with presenter Shiulie Ghosh are Guests: Peter Tatchell, a Gay rights activist & director of the human rights organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation and James Bogle, a lawyer & chairman of the Catholic Union of Great Britain. (AlJazeeraEnglish)

Thousands have marched in support of same-sex marriage in France after promised reforms will set to extend the rights of gay couples.

France is one of a growing number of countries planning to legalize 'marriage for all' - and allowing same-sex couples to adopt.

But many are against it, arguing children should be brought up by both a man and a woman.

It is an issue about bringing couples together - but its proving highly divisive.

France and Britain have drafted bills to legalize marriage for gay couples and with that, joining 11 other countries which have already brought in similar legislation, including Argentina, Canada, Netherlands, South Africa and Sweden. Parts of the US, Brazil and Mexico, also allow same-sex couples to marry.

Countries where same-sex marriages are legal include: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, United States, Brazil and Mexico.

Another 21 countries, France and the UK among them, recognise various forms of civil unions and registered partnerships between same-sex couples. Some of these legal pacts offer similar rights to a marriage, others give limited rights or none at all.

Last November, Winston McKenzie, the culture spokesman for the UK Independence Party, caused a storm when he said: "To say to a child, 'I am having you adopted by two men who kiss regularly but don’t worry about it' – that is abuse. It is a violation of a child’s human rights because that child has no opportunity to grow up under normal circumstances."

In 2006, a study by the American Academy of Pediatrics concluded:

There is ample evidence to show that children raised by same-gender parents fare as well as those raised by heterosexual parents. There is no relationship between parents' sexual orientation and any measure of a child's emotional, psychosocial, and behavioural adjustment.

Maria Miller, the UK's culture secretary, says the new legislation will allow religious organisations to opt out of performing same-sex marriages: "This bill protects and promotes religious freedom, so that all religious organisations can act according to their doctrines and beliefs."

Discussing the issue of same-sex marriage on Inside Story with presenter Shiulie Ghosh are guests: Peter Tatchell, a gay rights activist and director of the human rights organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation and James Bogle, a lawyer and chairman of the Catholic Union of Great Britain.

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