Big Events in Gay Marriage

Many protests have been made around the world over the absence of gay marriage rights. Some of these have taken the form of local governments approving gay marriages to test the existing marriage laws of their country. Here are some of the big events:

• In France in 2004, Noel Mamere, the mayor of Begles conducted a same-sex wedding ceremony. The marriage was later voided and the mayor faced death threats.
• In the US, there was a test of San Francisco gay marriage law. In 2005, marriage licences were issued to 4,037 same-sex couples. In all, 3,995 gay marriages were performed before the Supreme Court issued a stay of proceedings and voided the marriages. The rebellion showed the overwhelming support in the gay community for marriage.
• In Oregon, when Multnomah and Benton counties fought the state to be allowed to perform same-sex marriages, Benton county officers refused to perform ceremonies of any kind until a decision was reached by the court. Benton county officers received threats and reprimands during the period gay marriage licences were issued.

In many other cases around the world, gay couples have been married in a country allowing gay marriage and fought to have their marriage recognized in their home country. While these attempts have often failed, the successful attempt creates a precedent that allows all gay couples to access the same avenue to marriage.