In five studies conducted in Canada and the United States, we investigated the hypotheses that religiosity would be related to opposition to same-sex marriage through sexual prejudice Hypothesis 1 , and that these effects would be explained, at least in part, by endorsement of conservative ideology Hypothesis 2 , with resistance to change being a more important factor than opposition to equality Hypothesis 3.

Since , the Gallup organization has tracked opinions about whether marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law. Despite a general increase in support, many religious groups have actively opposed the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. Christian arguments against same-sex marriage tend to be based upon Biblical passages such as those discussing the fate of Sodom Genesis Much as some religious groups played a key role in the civil rights movement, there are denominations that now support full legal and religious marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples.

The United Church of Christ is one example. In arguing for marriage equality, they refer to the Christian values of love, peace, and compassion. For example, the more importance people ascribe to religion in their lives, the more likely they are to oppose same-sex marriage Jones, Gallup data from revealed that individuals who attended church on a weekly basis were more likely to be against recognition of same-sex marriage than people who attended less often or never Newport, Furthermore, those who opposed legalization of same-sex marriage were especially likely to justify their position on the basis of religious belief or interpretations of the Bible Newport, As federal legalization of same-sex marriage became increasingly probable in the United States, the debate on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender LGBT rights shifted from a focus on discrimination by the government to discrimination by the private sector Johnson, , with religious arguments dominating the rhetoric of those opposing same-sex marriage.

New York legalized same-sex marriage in but not before special provisions were made for religious protections within the text of the law. These protections were intended to make it clear that the bill does not require anyone to perform or solemnize marriages against their will. Statements such as these make an explicit connection between religiosity and opposition to same-sex marriage, and they demonstrate the deeply personal manner in which the issue is played out. Whereas religious opponents may see their objections to same-sex marriage as principled and legitimate, others see it as a human rights issue and may interpret opposition as a form of sexual prejudice and discrimination.

Empirically speaking, religious opposition to same-sex marriage could stem from various sources. Given that religion offers believers a well-defined moral framework that entails specific attitudes toward social groups, beliefs, and behaviors, it is possible that attitudes toward same-sex marriage simply reflect religious proscriptions. On the other hand, opposition may also be driven by sexual prejudice, which is defined as antipathy toward individuals and groups based on their sexual orientation Herek, An initial aim of this research program was to investigate whether a general aversion to gay men and lesbian women helps explain the relationship between religiosity and opposition to same-sex marriage.

To our knowledge, however, no studies have investigated the hypothesis that religious opposition to same-sex marriage is attributable, at least in part, to sexual prejudice Hypothesis 1. Analyzing 20 years of data from the General Social Survey, Sherkat and colleagues observed that political conservatives and those who identified with the Republican Party were more resistant to same-sex marriage than other Americans. The increase from previous years was driven more or less exclusively by Democrats and Independents; the views of Republicans did not change Newport, Therefore, a second aim of our research was to investigate whether the effect of religiosity on opposition to same-sex marriage would be mediated by the endorsement of conservative ideology.

Because previous research has demonstrated a robust connection between political conservatism and system justification Jost et al. According to a prominent model of political ideology, the two core aspects of conservatism are resistance to change and opposition to equality Jost, ; Jost et al.

Ideological self-placement on a single left—right dimension is correlated with prejudice toward nonnormative groups, such as gay men and lesbian women e. Nevertheless, somewhat distinct processes are thought to underlie resistance to change and opposition to equality. Right-wing authoritarianism Altemeyer, —which taps into resistance to change Jost et al.

The link between religiosity and resistance to change is fairly evident, insofar as religions tend to value traditionalism and maintenance of the societal status quo i. At the same time, religious doctrine emphasizes values such as compassion and tolerance, which seem more consistent with supporting marriage equality than opposing it. Therefore, we anticipated that resistance to change might be more important than opposition to equality in accounting for the positive association between religiosity and opposition to same-sex marriage.

Thus, we reasoned that resistance to change would be a stronger mediator of the effect of religiosity on opposition to same-sex marriage, in comparison with opposition to equality Hypothesis 3. In this research program, we sought to elucidate the effects of religiosity, political conservatism, and sexual prejudice in accounting for opposition to same-sex marriage.

To do this, we needed to establish that religiosity is indeed positively related to opposition to same-sex marriage, and to understand the extent to which this relationship is explained by sexual prejudice. Therefore, in Studies 1 and 2, we addressed the question of whether the effect of religiosity on opposition to same-sex marriage is mediated by sexual prejudice.

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In Study 3, we more closely examined the ideological underpinnings of these effects, and investigated whether preferences for the status quo i. In Studies 4a and 4b, we distinguished between the two core components of conservative ideology, resistance to change and opposition to equality, and tested whether the effect of the former is stronger than that of the latter.

Some of the direct relationships among these variables have been explored in prior studies, but our work contributes significantly to the psychological literature by investigating these variables simultaneously in an integrated theoretical model that enables us to explore indirect relationships as well. In Study 1, we conducted a bootstrapping analysis for simple mediation models Hayes, , Model 4 ; in Study 2, we conducted a bootstrapping analysis for parallel multiple mediation models Hayes, , Model 4 ; and in Studies 3, 4a, and 4b we conducted a bootstrapping analysis for serial multiple mediation models Hayes, , Model 6.

It is important to note that, given the observational nature of our research, it is impossible to infer causality. Comparing our model with an alternative in which the order of variables is altered does not provide strong evidence that one model should be preferred over the other Thoemmes, Nevertheless, at the request of journal reviewers, we provide the results of plausible alternative models in an online supplement. This assumption is in line with existing theory and research as well as common sense. We hasten to add, in any case, that it is empirically possible for our mediation hypotheses to be contradicted by the data.

For more information concerning the materials and procedures for all studies included in this article, consult our project page on the Open Science Framework: Participants were asked to indicate their religiosity on a scale ranging from 1 not at all religious to 7 extremely religious.

Participants indicated their agreement with eight statements on a scale ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree. This subscale did not include any items related to same-sex marriage. Descriptive statistics are provided in Table A in the online supplement. To investigate our first hypothesis—that sexual prejudice would mediate the effect of religiosity on opposition to same-sex marriage—we conducted a mediation analysis see Table B in the online supplement for regression estimates. As depicted in Figure 1 , religiosity indirectly influenced opposition to same-sex marriage through its effect on sexual prejudice.

These findings support the first hypothesis. Study 1 demonstrated that religiosity predicted opposition to same-sex marriage through sexual prejudice, as hypothesized. At the same time, the fact that religiosity remained significant when sexual prejudice was entered into the model suggests that it also exerted an independent effect on opposition to same-sex marriage. That is, if religious people identify and self-categorize as heterosexuals or believe that truly religious people are heterosexual, their opposition to same-sex marriage could simply reflect the denial of privileges to members of an outgroup.

We also administered a more general measure of sexual prejudice rather than aversion to gay men in particular and examined self-reported willingness to protest against same-sex marriage. Participants completed a questionnaire in the laboratory, which included measures of religiosity, sexual prejudice, willingness to protest against same-sex marriage, heterosexual ingroup identification, heterosexual self-categorization, and perceived category overlap.

Participants indicated their religiosity on a continuum ranging from 1 not at all religious to 7 extremely religious. Sexual prejudice was measured using a modified version of the eight-item scale administered in Study 1 ATGM; Herek, Sample items, which were worded more broadly than in the original scale, included the following: Three were opposing actions: Descriptive statistics are provided in Table C of the online supplement. Therefore, we included perceived category overlap as a potential mediator of the relationship between religiosity and willingness to protest against same-sex marriage see Table D in the online supplement.

As depicted in Figure 2 , religiosity indirectly influenced willingness to protest through its effect on sexual prejudice. However, perceived category overlap failed to mediate the relationship between religiosity and willingness to protest. In a conceptual replication of Study 1 with a measure of behavioral intention, we obtained additional support in Study 2 for the hypothesis that religiosity would predict willingness to protest against same-sex marriage, and that this relationship would be mediated by sexual prejudice.

In addition, we learned that the relationship between religiosity and willingness to protest was not mediated by heterosexual ingroup identification, heterosexual self-categorization, or perceived category overlap; thus, ingroup bias does not appear to account for religious opposition to same-sex marriage. Although the results of our first two studies suggested that the relationship between religiosity and opposition to same-sex marriage was explained in part by sexual prejudice rather than ingroup bias, specific mechanisms remained somewhat obscure.

Based on system justification theory Jost et al. Our reasoning was consistent with prior research, indicating that religiosity and conservatism are associated with system justification Jost et al. In Study 3, which was conducted in the United States, we investigated the hypothesis that the relationship between religiosity and opposition to same-sex marriage would be serially mediated by the endorsement of conservative ideology and sexual prejudice. A plurality of participants identified as Christian, Catholic, or Protestant Of the rest, Participants completed measures of religiosity, political ideology, sexual prejudice, and opposition to same-sex marriage, and provided demographic information.

The scales were administered in a random order. Participants indicated the strength of their religious conviction by responding to the item: We excluded one item that mentioned same-sex marriage. Participants indicated their endorsement of the following item: Descriptive statistics are provided in Table E of the online supplement. We hypothesized that the relationship between religiosity and opposition to same-sex marriage would be mediated by political conservatism and sexual prejudice in serial fashion.

Therefore, we conducted a serial multiple mediation model, which allows for the simultaneous testing of the indirect effect through both mediators and each mediator by itself i. To determine whether such an analysis would be appropriate, we first computed the partial correlation between ideology and sexual prejudice, adjusting for religiosity. This correlation reflects the association between the proposed mediators that remains after accounting for the effects of the independent variable on both Hayes, We observed that participants who were more conservative were more prejudiced, even after adjusting for the influence of religiosity on conservatism and sexual prejudice, r M1M2.

Thus, we proceeded to investigate the serial multiple mediation effect see Table H in the online supplement.

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To more fully assess the total indirect effect, we examined the contribution for each mediator separately and together in serial fashion. These findings suggest that only sexual prejudice was an independent mediator of the effect of religiosity on opposition to same-sex marriage. Serial multiple mediator model predicting opposition to same-sex marriage from religiosity, political ideology, and sexual prejudice Study 3. Thus, conservatism did significantly mediate the relationship between religiosity and opposition to same-sex marriage to the extent that it predicted sexual prejudice.

Study 3, then, provided evidence for the hypothesis that conservative preferences to maintain the status quo underlie religious opposition to same-sex marriage.

Don't ask, don't tell

Political conservatism involves two distinct but correlated components, namely, resistance to change and opposition to equality Jost, ; Jost et al. Insofar as religious doctrine emphasizes traditional, longstanding mores, as well as values such as compassion and tolerance, we hypothesized that the influence of resistance to change would be greater than the influence of opposition to equality when it comes to same-sex marriage. In Study 4a, we investigated the effects of religiosity, resistance to change, opposition to equality, and sexual prejudice on opposition to same-sex marriage.

Participants completed a survey that included measures of religiosity, resistance to change, opposition to equality, sexual prejudice, and opposition to same-sex marriage. Participants indicated the strength of their religious conviction by responding to the following item on a scale ranging from 1 not at all religious to 7 extremely religious: Five items tapped the first aspect of conservatism on a scale from 1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree: Participants indicated their opinion on a scale ranging from 1 strongly disagree to 9 strongly agree: Descriptive statistics are provided in Table G of the online supplement.

The partial correlation between resistance to change and sexual prejudice remained significant after adjusting for religiosity, pr M1M2. These results justified the fitting of serial multiple mediation models. We first conducted a mediation analysis including resistance to change and sexual prejudice as mediators, adjusting for opposition to equality see Table H in the online supplement. Participants who were more religious were more sexually prejudiced and, in turn, more opposed to same-sex marriage. Serial multiple mediator model predicting opposition to same-sex marriage from religiosity, resistance to change, and sexual prejudice, adjusting for opposition to equality Study 4a.

We conducted a similar mediation analysis including opposition to equality and sexual prejudice as mediators, this time adjusting for resistance to change. These results are consistent with our expectation that resistance to change would be a more important factor than opposition to equality when it comes to opposition to same-sex marriage. Study 4a supported the expectation that conservative preferences to maintain the status quo would help account for relations among religiosity, sexual prejudice, and opposition to same-sex marriage. Especially in light of the number of variables included in the model, we deemed it important to replicate these findings in an independent sample of participants.

In this case, however, we employed a measure of opposition to social rather than economic equality. We administered a measure of opposition to equality consisting of eight items from the Social Dominance Orientation scale Pratto et al. Descriptive statistics are provided in Table L of the online supplement.


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The policy was introduced as a compromise measure in by President Bill Clinton who campaigned in on the promise to allow all citizens to serve in the military regardless of sexual orientation. It concluded that "circumstances could exist under which the ban on homosexuals could be lifted with little or no adverse consequences for recruitment and retention" if the policy were implemented with care, principally because many factors contribute to individual enlistment and re-enlistment decisions.

Herek , associate research psychologist at the University of California at Davis and an authority on public attitudes toward lesbians and gay men, testified before the House Armed Services Committee on behalf of several professional associations. He stated, "The research data show that there is nothing about lesbians and gay men that makes them inherently unfit for military service, and there is nothing about heterosexuals that makes them inherently unable to work and live with gay people in close quarters.

In Congress, Democratic Senator Sam Nunn of Georgia led the contingent that favored maintaining the absolute ban on gays. Reformers were led by Democratic Congressman Barney Frank of Massachusetts , who favored modification but ultimately voted for the defense authorization bill with the gay ban language , and Barry Goldwater , a former Republican Senator and a retired Major General, [34] who argued on behalf of allowing service by open gays and lesbians.

In a June Washington Post opinion piece, Goldwater wrote: Congress rushed to enact the existing gay ban policy into federal law, outflanking Clinton's planned repeal effort. Clinton called for legislation to overturn the ban, but encountered intense opposition from the Joint Chiefs of Staff , members of Congress, and portions of the public. DADT emerged as a compromise policy. The phrase was coined by Charles Moskos , a military sociologist. In accordance with the December 21, , Department of Defense Directive The "Don't Ask" provision mandated that military or appointed officials will not ask about or require members to reveal their sexual orientation.

The "Don't Tell" stated that a member may be discharged for claiming to be a homosexual or bisexual or making a statement indicating a tendency towards or intent to engage in homosexual activities. It ensured that the military would not allow harassment or violence against service members for any reason. The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network was founded in to advocate an end to discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the U. Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, Inc. An association of law schools had argued that allowing military recruiting at their institutions compromised their ability to exercise their free speech rights in opposition to discrimination based on sexual orientation as represented by DADT.

McVeigh won a preliminary injunction from a U. Navy for "homosexual conduct" after 17 years of service. His lawsuit did not challenge the DADT policy, but asked the court to hold the military accountable for adhering to the policy's particulars. The case also attracted attention because a navy paralegal had misrepresented himself when querying AOL for information about McVeigh's account. Frank Rich linked the two issues: McVeigh reached a settlement with the Navy that paid his legal expenses and allowed him to retire with full benefits in July.

The New York Times called Sporkin's ruling "a victory for gay rights, with implications for the millions of people who use computer on-line services". In July the Secretary of the Air Force ordered her honorable discharge. Dismissed by the district court, the case was heard on appeal, and the Ninth Circuit issued its ruling on May 21, Its decision in Witt v. Department of the Air Force reinstated Witt's substantive-due-process and procedural-due-process claims and affirmed the dismissal of her Equal Protection claim.

Texas , determined that DADT had to be subjected to heightened scrutiny, meaning that there must be an "important" governmental interest at issue, that DADT must "significantly" further the governmental interest, and that there can be no less intrusive way for the government to advance that interest. The Obama administration declined to appeal, allowing a May 3, , deadline to pass, leaving Witt as binding on the entire Ninth Circuit, and returning the case to the District Court.

Leighton ruled that Witt's constitutional rights had been violated by her discharge and that she must be reinstated to the Air Force. The government filed an appeal with the Ninth Circuit on November 23, but made no attempt to have the trial court's ruling stayed pending the outcome. She will retire with full benefits. The government argued that DADT was necessary to advance a legitimate governmental interest.

According to plaintiffs, these statements alone satisfied their burden of proof on the due process claims. On September 9, , Judge Virginia A. Phillips ruled in Log Cabin Republicans v. United States of America that the ban on service by openly gay service members was an unconstitutional violation of the First and Fifth Amendments. Supreme Court refused to overrule the stay. The constitutional issues regarding DADT are well-defined, and the District Court focused specifically on the relevant inquiry of whether the statute impermissibly infringed upon substantive due process rights with regard to a protected area of individual liberty.

Engaging in a careful and detailed review of the facts presented to it at trial, the District Court properly concluded that the Government put forward no persuasive evidence to demonstrate that the statute is a valid exercise of congressional authority to legislate in the realm of protected liberty interests. See Log Cabin, F. Hypothetical questions were neither presented nor answered in reaching this decision.

On October 19, , military recruiters were told they could accept openly gay applicants. LCR opposed the request, noting that gay personnel were still subject to discharge. On January 28, , the Court denied the Justice Department's request. On March 28, the LCR filed a brief asking that the court deny the administration's request. In , while waiting for certification, several service members were discharged under DADT at their own insistence, [68] until July 6 when a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals re-instated Judge Phillips' injunction barring further enforcement of the U.

On July 15, the Ninth Circuit restored most of the DADT policy, [71] but continued to prohibit the government from discharging or investigating openly gay personnel. Following the July murder of Army Pfc. Barry Winchell , apparently motivated by anti-gay bias, President Clinton issued an executive order modifying the Uniform Code of Military Justice to permit evidence of a hate crime to be admitted during the sentencing phase of a trial. Fitness to serve should be based on an individual's conduct, not their sexual orientation.

Mundy defended the implementation of DADT against what he called the "politicization" of the issue by both Clintons. He also argued against any change in the policy, writing in the New York Times: Opponents of the policy focused on punishing harassment in the military rather than the policy itself, which Sen. Chuck Hagel defended on December The principal candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination in , Al Gore and Bill Bradley , both endorsed military service by open gays and lesbians, provoking opposition from high-ranking retired military officers, notably the recently retired commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen.

He and others objected to Gore's statement that he would use support for ending DADT as a "litmus test" when considering candidates for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Bush in , observers expected him to avoid any changes to DADT, since his nominee for Secretary of State Colin Powell had participated in its creation. In July the American Psychological Association issued a statement that DADT "discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation" and that "Empirical evidence fails to show that sexual orientation is germane to any aspect of military effectiveness including unit cohesion, morale, recruitment and retention.

Army Forces Command spokesperson said the regulation was intended to prevent Reservists and National Guard members from pretending to be gay to escape combat. We should not be training people who are not eligible to be in the Armed Forces. The commission report stated that the GAO did not take into account the value the military lost from the departures. They are promoting an agenda to normalize homosexuality in America using the military as a battering ram to promote that broader agenda. Patrick Guerriero, executive director of Log Cabin, thought the repeal movement was gaining "new traction" but "Ultimately", said, "we think it's going to take a Republican with strong military credentials to make a shift in the policy.

John Warner, who backed DADT, said "I respectfully, but strongly, disagree with the chairman's view that homosexuality is immoral", and Pace expressed regret for expressing his personal views and said that DADT "does not make a judgment about the morality of individual acts. When I first heard [the phrase], I thought it sounded silly and I just dismissed it and said, well, that can't possibly work. Well, I sure was wrong.

It's been in place now for over a decade. The military says it's working and they don't want to change it We're in the middle of a conflict right now. I would not change it. That summer, after U. In November , 28 retired generals and admirals urged Congress to repeal the policy, citing evidence that 65, gay men and women were serving in the armed forces and that there were over a million gay veterans. On May 4, , while Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen addressed the graduating cadets at West Point , a cadet asked what would happen if the next administration were supportive of legislation allowing gays to serve openly.

In May , when a committee of military law experts at the Palm Center , an anti-DADT research institute, concluded that the President could issue an Executive Order to suspend homosexual conduct discharges, [] Obama rejected that option and said he wanted Congress to change the law. On July 5, , Colin Powell told CNN said that the policy was "correct for the time" but that "sixteen years have now gone by, and I think a lot has changed with respect to attitudes within our country, and therefore I think this is a policy and a law that should be reviewed.

At a time when we're fighting two conflicts there is a great deal of pressure on our forces and their families. In October , the Commission on Military Justice, known as the Cox Commission , repeated its recommendation that Article of the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which bans sodomy, be repealed, noting that "most acts of consensual sodomy committed by consenting military personnel are not prosecuted, creating a perception that prosecution of this sexual behavior is arbitrary.

In January , the White House and congressional officials started work on repealing the ban by inserting language into the defense authorization bill. At a February 2, , congressional hearing, Senator John McCain read from a letter signed by "over one thousand former general and flag officers". They said that among those signing the letter were officers who had no knowledge of their inclusion or who had refused to be included, and even one instance of a general's widow who signed her husband's name to the letter though he had died before the survey was published.


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The average age of the officers whose names were listed as signing the letter was 74, the oldest was 98, and Servicemembers United noted that "only a small fraction of these officers have even served in the military during the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' period, much less in the 21st century military. The Center for American Progress issued a report in March that said a smooth implementation of an end to DADT required eight specified changes to the military's internal regulations.

The underlying justifications for DADT have been subjected to increasing suspicion and outright rejection by the early 21st century. Mounting evidence obtained from the integration efforts of foreign militaries, surveys of U. The DoD working group conducting the study considered the impact that lifting the ban would have on unit cohesion and effectiveness, good order and discipline, and military morale. The study included a survey that revealed significant differences between respondents who believed they had served with homosexual troops and those who did not believe they had.

In analyzing such data, the DoD working group concluded that it was actually generalized perceptions of homosexual troops that led to the perceived unrest that would occur without DADT. Ultimately, the study deemed the overall risk to military effectiveness of lifting the ban to be low. Citing the ability of the armed forces to adjust to the previous integration of African-Americans and women, the DoD study asserted that the United States military could adjust as had it before in history without an impending serious effect.

In March , Rep. It aimed "to amend title 10, United States Code, to enhance the readiness of the Armed Forces by replacing the current policy concerning homosexuality in the Armed Forces, referred to as 'Don't ask, don't tell,' with a policy of nondiscrimination on the basis of sexual orientation".

During the presidential election campaign, Senator Barack Obama advocated a full repeal of the laws barring gays and lesbians from serving in the military. On May 27, , on a — vote, [] the U. It provided for repeal of the DADT policy and created a process for lifting the policy, including a U.

History of same-sex unions

Department of Defense study and certification by key officials that the change in policy would not harm military readiness followed by a waiting period of 60 days. United States , against the Department of Defense in November seeking full compensation for those discharged under the policy.

Across all service branches, 30 percent thought that integrating gays into the military would have negative consequences. In the Marine Corps and combat specialties, the percentage with that negative assessment ranged from 40 to 60 percent. The CRWG also said that 69 percent of all those surveyed believed they had already worked with a gay or lesbian and of those, 92 percent reported that the impact of that person's presence was positive or neutral.

We hope that our collective statement underscores that the debate about the evidence is now officially over Gates encouraged Congress to act quickly to repeal the law so that the military could carefully adjust rather than face a court decision requiring it to lift the policy immediately. Service members, especially combat troops, he wrote, "deserve better than to be treated like lab rats in Mr.

Obama's radical social experiment". On December 9, , another filibuster prevented debate on the Defense Authorization Act. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates released a statement following the vote indicating that the planning for implementation of a policy repeal would begin right away and would continue until Gates certified that conditions were met for orderly repeal of the policy.

The repeal act established a process for ending the DADT policy. The President, the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were required to certify in writing that they had reviewed the Pentagon's report on the effects of DADT repeal, that the appropriate regulations had been reviewed and drafted, and that implementation of repeal regulations "is consistent with the standards of military readiness, military effectiveness, unit cohesion, and recruiting and retention of the Armed Forces".

Once certification was given, DADT would be lifted after a day waiting period. His proposed legislation required all of the chiefs of the armed services to submit the certification at the time required only of the President, Defense Secretary and Joint Chiefs Chairman. On January 29, , Pentagon officials stated that the training process to prepare troops for the end of DADT would begin in February and would proceed quickly, though they suggested that it might not be completed in In May , the U.

Army reprimanded three colonels for performing a skit in March at a function at Yongsan Garrison , South Korea, that mocked the repeal. In May , revelations that an April Navy memo relating to its DADT training guidelines contemplated allowing same-sex weddings in base chapels and allowing chaplains to officiate if they so chose resulted in a letter of protest from 63 Republican congressman, citing the Defense of Marriage Act DOMA as controlling the use of federal property.

While waiting for certification, several service members were discharged at their own insistence [68] until a July 6 ruling from a federal appeals court barred further enforcement of the U. Anticipating the lifting of DADT, some active duty service members wearing civilian clothes marched in San Diego's gay pride parade on July The DOD noted that participation "does not constitute a declaration of sexual orientation".

At the end of August , the DOD approved the distribution of the magazine produced by OutServe , an organization of gay and lesbian service members, at Army and Air Force base exchanges beginning with the September 20 issue, coinciding with the end of DADT. Josh Seefried , one of the founders of OutServe , an organization of LGBT troops, revealed his identity after two years of hiding behind a pseudonym. Nevertheless, Historian John Boswell argued that Adelphopoiesis , or brother-making, represented an early form of religious same-sex marriage in the Orthodox church.

However, the historicity of Boswell's interpretation of the ceremony is contested by the Greek Orthodox Church [ citation needed ] , and his scholarship critiqued as being of dubious quality by theologian Robin Darling Young. This legal category may represent one of the earliest forms of sanctioned same-sex unions. The Catholic Church has always maintained that marriage also called Holy Matrimony is a Sacrament instituted by Christ, between a baptized man and a baptized woman. They were married by a priest at a small chapel. The historic documents about the church wedding were found at Monastery of San Salvador de Celanova.

Michel de Montaigne , a 16th-century French philosopher and prominent essayist, witnessed a same-sex wedding occur using the usual Tridentine marriage ceremonies of the Roman Catholic Church. In the 20th and 21st centuries various types of same-sex unions have come to be legalized. Other types of recognition for same-sex unions civil unions or registered partnerships are, as of [update] , legal in additional twelve European countries: A referendum to change the Constitution of the Republic of Ireland to allow same sex marriage took place on 22 May and approved the proposal to add the following declaration to the Constitution: In North America, among the Native Americans societies, same-sex unions have taken place with persons known as Two-Spirit types.

These are individuals who fulfill one of many mixed gender roles in First Nations and Native American tribes. On July 20, , Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act which provided a gender-neutral marriage definition. Before passage of the Act, more than 3, same-sex couples had already married in those areas.

In the United States during the 19th century, there was recognition of the relationship of two women making a long-term commitment to each other and cohabitating, referred to at the time as a Boston marriage ; however, the general public at the time likely did not assume that sexual activities were part of the relationship.

Troy Perry performed the first public gay wedding in the United States in , but it was not legally recognized, and in , Metropolitan Community Church filed the first-ever lawsuit seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriages.

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The lawsuit was not successful. In March , two Unitarian Universalist ministers Kay Greenleaf and Dawn Sangrey were charged with multiple counts of solemnizing a marriage without a license in the State of New York. The charges were the first brought against clergy for performing same-sex unions in North America, according to the Human Rights Campaign , a Washington, D. The earliest use of the phrase "commitment ceremony" as an alternative term for "gay wedding" appears to be by Bill Woods who, in , tried to organize a mass "commitment ceremony" for Hawaii's first gay pride parade.

In January, , Morningside Monthly Meeting of the Society of Friends became the first Quaker Meeting to take a same-sex marriage using the word marriage, rather than "commitment ceremony" under its care with the marriage of Reyson Ame and William McCann on May 30, Hodges that marriage is a fundamental right and must be extended to same-sex couples. Names for the registered, formal, or solemnized combination of same-sex partners have included " domestic partnership ", " civil union ", " marriage ", " registered partnership ", " reciprocal beneficiary ", and " same-sex union ".

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Same-sex marriage , History of human sexuality , and Timeline of same-sex marriage. Armenia Israel Mexico 1 Netherlands 2. Same-sex union legislation Same-sex union court cases Timeline of same-sex marriage Recognition of same-sex unions in Africa Recognition of same-sex unions in Asia Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe Recognition of same-sex unions in the Americas Recognition of same-sex unions in Oceania Marriage privatization Divorce of same-sex couples Domestic partnership Military policy Adoption Listings by country.

Homosexuality in ancient Rome and Homosexuality in ancient Greece. Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe. Same-sex marriage in Canada. Same-sex marriage in the United States. This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. September Learn how and when to remove this template message.

This article possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. The origins and role of same-sex relations in human societies. Homosexuality in the Ancient World. Passions of the Cut Sleeve: The Male Homosexual Tradition in China.