Gay Marriage - DOMA, 14th Amendment & Supreme Court | HISTORY

Contents:

• A TIMELE OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK
• WHEN DID BEG GAY BEE LEGAL THE UK?
• GAY MARRIAGE: 15,000 SAME-SEX UPL WED SCE LAW CHANGE
• GAY MARRIAGE BE LEGAL BRA – PICTUR
• GAY MARRIAGE
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE
• FIRST GAY MARRIAG THE UK WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT TONIGHT

A TIMELE OF GAY RIGHTS THE UK

The act, which crimalised homosexual sex acts between nsentg men over the age of 21, opened the door to a slew of legal and social chang which would transform the way Brish society viewed same-sex relatnships over the next 50 are some of the key dat the history of gay rights the UK:1533: The Buggery Act, the first ever law to specifilly outlaw anal sex, was signed to English law. 1957: The Wolfenn mtee published s report, based on three years of ttimony om police, psychiatrists and gay men but one of the mtee's 15 members, drawn om the world of polics, law, medice and amia, agreed that homosexual acts between nsentg men over the age of legal majory - 21 at the time - should not be a matter for the law.

WHEN DID BEG GAY BEE LEGAL THE UK?

1988: Then-Prime Mister Margaret Thatcher troduced an amendment to the Lol Government Act 1988 banng state schools om teachg or promotg the "acceptabily of homosexualy as a pretend fay relatnship" notor "Sectn 28" ed wispread outrage and as the talyst for a massive surge gay activism, cludg the formatn of LGBT rights group Stonewall UK. Approval fell the 1980s when the Aids crisis and the troductn of sectn 28 - a law prohibg the promotn or teachg of homosexualy schools - uld have swayed public opn acrdg to NatCen, the thk tank which ns the a steady and rapid rise om the early 1990s reflects a wir trend of social liberalisatn, somethg also seen changg attus to pre-maral sex.

Approval of pre-maral sex grew ially among the young - as they got olr they retaed that belief, and soon both old and young were more liberal on the same-sex relatnships the shift attu has been quicker - not only did young people wh liberal views get olr, but olr people changed their mds, might part be bee chang the law, such as the legalisatn of civil partnerships and then gay marriage, have a powerful fluence on people's views, a NatCen spokman suggts. 1967 - Sex between two men over 21 and " private" is crimalised1980 - Decrimalisatn Stland1982 - Decrimalisatn Northern Ireland1994 - The age of nsent for two male partners is lowered to 182000 - The ban on gay and bisexual people servg the armed forc is lifted; the age of nsent is equalised for same- and oppose-sex partners at 162002 - Same-sex upl are given equal rights when to adoptn2003 - Gross cency is removed as an offence2004 - A law allowg civil partnerships is passed2007 - Discrimatn on the basis of sexual orientatn is banned2010 - Genr reassignment is add as a protected characteristic equaly legislatn2014 - Gay marriage be legal England, Wal and Stland3. Government has attempted to redrs this legacyGiven this legacy of crimalisatn, the ernment troduced a scheme October 2012 allowg those prosecuted unr funct gay-sex-related laws, to have their nvictns removed om police and urt Home Office timat that there were about 50, 000 such offenc rerd on the system om the 1950s until of the 50, 000, only an timated 16, 000 are for people who are still livg and so able to all of the 16, 000 offenc are eligible to be "disregard".

GAY MARRIAGE: 15,000 SAME-SEX UPL WED SCE LAW CHANGE

Rerdg of homophobic hate crim has risenA steep rise homophobic hate crim has been rerd over the past five years, but this is thought to be large part down to an crease people reportg cints rather than a genue rise crime. The Natnal Police Chiefs Council's lead on homophobic crim, Assistant Chief Constable Mark Haton, says: "Tradnally, homophobic hate crime has been signifintly unr-reported and we do not believe that current statistics accurately reflect actual levels of abe.

It's strikg that people aged 16-24 are more than five tim more likely than those aged over 65 to intify as gay, lbian or Office for Natnal Statistics keeps rerds of people who intify themselv as gay, lbian or bisexual - 1. This is likely to unrtimate the real numbers as the survey don't pture sexual attractn or 2005 the ernment tried to timate the size of the lbian, gay and bisexual populatn and me up wh a larger number - 5-7% of the populatn.

GAY MARRIAGE BE LEGAL BRA – PICTUR

Gay people say they feel ls happy than their straight peersPeople who intify as gay, lbian and bisexual report lower levels of well-beg than heterosexuals the ONS looks at happs, life satisfactn, and the extent to which people feel their life is worthwhile. Gay and lbian people report higher levels of anxiety than straight people, but bisexual people are even more likely to suffer om the lbian, gay and bisexual people are also more likely to suffer om suicidal thoughts than their straight iends, acrdg to a 2014 survey by LGBT support chary Metro.

GAY MARRIAGE

Same-sex upl have gaed equal marriage rightsCivil partnerships were legalised 2004 throughout the Uned Kgdom, wh the first ceremoni takg place at the end of the followg 140, 000 people entered to civil partnerships between 2005 and 2015, the last year for which figur are the UK, gay and lbian upl were granted many of the same rights as married heterosexuals, albe wh a few differenc around issu like private-sector meant that upl uld no longer be kept out of hospal rooms when their partner was sick, they would no longer lose their home or bs bee of tax laws, and they had parental rights over marriage was legalised a later, wh the first ceremoni takg place England, Wal and Stland 2014.

Countri where gay marriage is legal2010 Iceland, Portugal, Argenta2013 Uguay, New Zealand, France, Brazil2014 UK (excludg Northern Ireland)2015 Luxembourg, Ireland, Mexi, USAA further 28 untri guarantee some civil-partnership regnn acrdg to ILGA. Media ptn, Peter McGrah and David Cabreza, John Coffey and Bernardo Marti, and Andrew Wale and Neil Allard were among the first gay upl to marryThe first same-sex weddgs have taken place after gay marriage beme legal England and Wal at midnight. "The law change would enurage young people unsure of their sexualy, he source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Tera Millward and Helen Brearley married HalifaxImage source, APImage ptn, Sean Adl-Tabatabai and Sclair Treadway married the uncil chamber at Camn Town Hall LondonImage source, PAImage ptn, Sandi Toksvig and her partner Debbie renewed their civil partnership vows at an event London celebratg the law changeLater on Saturday morng, Mr Cameron tweeted: "Congratulatns to the gay upl who have already been married - and my bt wish to those about to be on this historic day.

Mr Tatchell said the uple and all the others gettg married had "ma history" and "ma Bra a more tolerant, equal place" a crowd of photographers, journalists and well-wishers wag, the uple took the opportuny to highlight the ternatnal stggle for gay McGrah said: "Very few untri afford their gay and lbian cizens equal marriage rights and we believe that this change law will brg hope and strength to gay men and lbians Nigeria, Uganda, Rsia, India and elsewhere, who lack basic equaly and are beg crimalised for their sexual orientatn.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

"Image source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Andrew Wale and Neil Allard were the first same-sex uple to marry BrightonImage source, AFPImage ptn, Phil Robathan and Jam Prton later married at Brighton Town HallLater on Saturday, a crowd of about 2, 000 people - which clud a number of celebri - gathered to watch edian Sandi Toksvig and her partner Debbie renew their civil partnership uple, who entered to a civil partnership seven years ago, exchanged vows on stage at the Royal Ftival Hall London at a special event to celebrate the troductn of gay marriage the UK.

The Roman Catholic Church oppos the change the gay virs, though, have said they are prepared to fy their bishops by sistg they have a right to ptn, The Rev Andrew Ca says he do not want nontatn wh the Church, but "mt do what is right"Among them is the Reverend Andrew Ca, who said the Church was enterg uncharted terrory, but he would not be "ightened" out of dog what he believed was Ca, who plans to marry his partner the summer, said he would do so whether the Church approved or not.

By one vote, the urt l that same-sex marriage nnot be banned the Uned Stat and that all same-sex marriag mt be regnized natnwi, fally grantg same-sex upl equal rights to heterosexual upl unr the 1971, jt two years after the Stonewall Rts that unofficially marked the begng of the stggle for gay rights and marriage equaly, the Mnota Supreme Court had found same-sex marriage bans nstutnal, a precent which the Supreme Court had never challenged.

FIRST GAY MARRIAG THE UK WILL TAKE PLACE AT THE STROKE OF MIDNIGHT TONIGHT

As homosexualy gradually beme more accepted Amerin culture, the nservative backlash was strong enough to force Print Bill Clton to sign the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), prohibg the regnn of same-sex marriag at the feral level, to law 1996. “I believe that if a uple love each other and want to m to a life together, they should have the optn of a civil marriage, irrpective of whether they are gay or straight, … are not prrisg gay rights, or tramplg over tradn; we are allowg a space for the two to exist si by si. There was no statutory age of nsent for lbian sex until the Sexual Offenc Amendment Act 2000 which equalised the age of nsent for homosexual and heterosexual men and women to 16 England, Wal and Stland.

Same-sex marriage beme legal jt after midnight on 29 March 2014, wh several upl optg to tie the knot moments source, Getty ImagImage ptn, Slightly more women have married pared to men - Tera Millward and Helen Brearley married on 29 March 2014Peter McGrah and David Cabreza married at 00:01 BST at Islgton Town Hall havg been together for 17 McGrah said: "I don't thk thgs have changed for many ways, we were already a long-term relatnship, we already had two kids, except the visibily of gay marriage across the world starts to make a difference. "There have always been gay men and lbians long-term relatnships that have que happily survived wh the ntext of fay and muny, but the law ught up wh the existence, and I'm hopg other untri legislatn n give people a chance.