Same Sex Marriage

The current political structure of the Ecuadorian State and its recent Constitutional Reformation paved a way for greater equality and inclusion of LGBT rights. This post-neoliberal Latin American country is shaping the sexual identities and the queered citizen statuses of LGBT people in a remarkable way as Ecuador governs its country in a paradoxical way by using a hegemonic strategy of both transphobic violence and homoprotectionism.
This literature review aimed to deconstruct the sexual politics – performed through practices of repression and exclusion, but also through resistance and resilience – in Ecuador to grasp the local ideologies on gender identity and normative sexual orientation. Although the Correa administration appears to be progressive and LGBT-friendly, the Ecuadorian law can still be considered as a symbolic violation to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) rights as it manifests heteronormative ideologies through its ‘pinkwedging’ policies.
The challenge that Ecuador faces now is to translate its positive intentions towards greater recognition of all people – regardless from their gender or sexual preference – and to continue the Citizen Revolution to advocate for equal rights to all her citizens. 

Key words: sexual politics, LGBT, homoprotectionism, heteronormativity, citizenship, Ecuador

In this essay we apply Hirschl’s test on juristocracy to the Polish courts dealing with cases con- cerning LGBTQ+ rights. Furthermore, a brief overview of the landmark judgments in simi- lar cases rendered by selected national (Israel Supreme Court, German Constitutional Court, and the U.S. Supreme Court) and pan-national (chiefly European Court of Human Rights, also Court of Justice of the European Union) courts is offered. All these judicial developments post- date publication of Towards Juristocracy and prove Hirschl right. This part of the chapter is fol- lowed by a sketch of the legal panorama of the present-day Poland, against which the legal stand- ing of the LGBTQ+ community is discussed. Finally, the most significant rulings of the Polish courts are analysed in order to appraise the validity Hirschl’s hypotheses. In conclusion, we at- tempt to explain the recent shift in the paradigm (the Polish courts have gradually departed from the initial reluctance to protect LGBTQ+ rights). We claim this change is owed to the assault on the Polish judiciary carried out by the parliamentary majority: in a way it has put the judges into the situation of an oppressed minority.

Dans la foulée du séminaire "Sociologie des homosexualités" (1998-2004) dirigé par Françoise Gaspard et Didier Éribon, une nouvelle génération de chercheuses et chercheurs s'est engagée avec résolution sur le voie des études gays et lesbiennes. Par son choix de l'homosexualité, elle confronte les sciences humaines et sociales à leurs impensés catégoriels et plaide pour "une autre dimension de connaissance" (Monique Wittig). Aux côtés de quelques-uns des meilleurs spécialistes français et étrangers, ces jeunes universitaires donnent ainsi l'occasion de découvrir des terrains aussi divers que fascinants : de l'amitié chrétienne médiévale au lesbianisme dans le mouvement des Femmes en noir en Israël, du cinéma militant des années soixante-dix au vécu des familles homoparentales, des catégories sexuelles antiques à la géographie commerciale parisienne, des comportements sexuels masculins dans le contexte du VIH aux modalités d'enregistrement du PACS, etc.

E drejta për të lidhur martesë dhe për të krijuar familje bën pjesë në të drejtat dhe liritë themelore të njeriut e cila me kalimin e kohës ka pësuar mutacione përsa i përket subjekteve të gëzimit dhe ushtrimit të saj, moshës së tyre, gjinisë, kritereve që duhet t’i nënshtrohen etj.

Në këtë punim do të fokusohemi tek gjinia e sujekteve të kësaj të drejte.
Kushtetuta e Republikës së Kosovës, në nenin 3 të saj, garanton barazinë para ligjit dhe në nenin 24 mosdiskriminimin për shkak të orientimit seksual. Duke u bazuar në parimin e mosdiskriminimit, Kushtetuta i njeh çdokujt të drejtën  të martohet dhe të drejtën që të krijojë familje sipas pëlqimit të lirë. Pra, të drejtën për të lidhur martesë nuk e lidh domosdoshmerisht me gjininë e ndryshme të subjekteve.
A gjen zbatim Kushtetuta në ligjin për familjen apo ka nevojë që ky i fundit të përditësohet?
A mund të lidhin martesë dy persona të së njëjtës gjini në Republikën e Kosovës?
E drejta për tu martuar është një ndërthurje e lirive negative dhe pozitive. Prandaj, nuk vlen vetëm kërkesa që pushtetet publike të mos nderhyjnë në sferën e autonomisë private, por edhe kërkesa që këto pushtete të bëhen aktive, me qëllim që të sigurohet  zhvillimi i plotë i personalitetit njerëzor. Thënë këtë, pushtetet publike në Republikën e Kosovës, duhet të marrin të gjitha masat që e drejta për të lidhur martesë e krijuar familje të gëzohet e plotë nga të gjithë shtetasit e saj, duke u bazuar ne Kushtetutë, aktet ndërkombëtare të ratifikuara dhe në frymën e përgjithshme të ligjeve.

Ky punim nuk kërkon të jetë shterues, por tenton të hedhë dritë në realitetin legjislativ të Republikës së Kosovës, për të parë respektimin e të drejtes për të lidhur martesë e për të krijuar familje të personave të të njejtës gjini në Republikën e Kosovës, garancitë ligjore, aplikueshmërinë e Kushtetutës.


Fjalët kyce: martesë brenda së njëjtës gjini, kushtetutë, ligj për familje, mosdiskriminim, ndërhyrje e shtetit.

Despite its apparent gay friendliness, Japanese society has witnessed few public debates or social movements in support of same-sex marriage. It seems that Japanese scholars and activists are only just beginning to advocate the legal protection of homosexual couples. Although Japan has witnessed a few recent developments toward same-sex marriage, an anti-same sex marriage perspective seems to dominate, even among Japanese scholars and activists who are gay and lesbian themselves.In order to understand Japans slow progress toward same-sex marriage, this article examines the legality of same-sex marriage in Japan, Japans apparent lack of the political and historical progress of same-sex marriage in the West, and Japanese societal and cultural features including gay adoption, invisibility and heterosexism at work and in academia. This article also compares the current debates on the legal protection of same-sex couples in Japan and Japanese feminist criticism of the Japanese family, to explain the prevalence of the anti-same sex marriage position. Further, with the notion of familial homophobia by Shulman (2009), the traditional Japanese family is defined as the grounds for homophobia. Lastly, the possibility of legalizing same-sex marriage in Japan is discussed.

I re-examine the traditional gender requirement for morally endorsed and ecclesially blessed Christian sex and marriage, and suggest it may be “a time to throw [it] away” (cf. Eccl. 3:6). After defining the question, I survey arguments for and against this gender requirement from three Christian ethical approaches: divine commands in Scripture, natural law, and theologies of the body, and suggest the revisionist arguments stronger in each case. Firstly, the best way to make sense of the Scriptural material on gender norms is a ‘trajectory’ hermeneutic, which Christians already apply in many situations. The Bible’s trajectory on gender points away from gender-based restrictions on social, ecclesial, and familial roles. Secondly, common rationalist natural law arguments against homosexuality, based on the procreative end, reduce to an inconsistent rule based on gender essentialism, abstracted from real procreation. The classic natural law method re-applied today can support the removal of the gender requirement, especially if brought into dialogue with newer insights from the observation of nature. Thirdly, ‘gender complementarity’ is an inadequate account of, and norm for, the bodily experience of real people, especially LGBTIQ people. Examining real embodied experiences of human flourishing and suffering provides strong arguments against the traditional gender requirement.

South Africa recognizes a multiplicity of marriage forms: common law
marriage, customary marriage, and same-sex marriage. The South African
Constitution has a high sensibility related to issues of human dignity, equality,
and freedom. Respect for both cultural identity and non-discrimination is
related to this trinity of values. In an axiologic perspective, however, these
values can sometimes conflict, as it happens in the customary marriage- a plural
marriage practiced in the form polygyny. In South Africa, coexisting forms of
marriage relate in a critical way to problems concerning non-traditional
concepts of marriage. Oftentimes, when discussing the possibility of
recognizing same-sex marriage, it is suggested that this would force states to
recognize polygamy as well. In actuality, these two forms of marriage are easily
distinguishable according to their structure and function. They only share one
characteristic: the contrast with the traditional concept of marriage as “union
of one man and one woman.”

MERGING IS SEX OBVIOUSLY,  NORMAL MERGING IS KNOWING THE PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE OF BOTH BEINGS, NO YOU OR I = ONENESS,  THE TWO ANUs MERGE – IF ONE IS AN ATTACK, THEN THE ORIGINAL ANU BECOMES SMALLER, DUMBER AND WEAKER, WHICH IS WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. 

AND - OUR "REALITY" UNMASKED

Quand il est à Rome, le pape François déjeune chaque jour au milieu de bonnes soeurs dont il partage le modeste repas. Signe de la vie simple qu’il s’est choisie en référence à François d’Assise, dont il fut le premier pape à adopter le patronyme comme pour inaugurer une ère nouvelle. Mais aussi, dit-on, façon de conjurer le risque d’un empoisonnement, tant sa volonté de réforme heurterait les puissants du Vatican… Pour autant, en faire un pape révolutionnaire reviendrait à ne pas saisir à quel point son action est limitée par la doctrine, le fonctionnement des structures de l’Église et les difficultés contemporaines du catholicisme. Si François, professionnel de la communication et habile jésuite, tient tant à un aggiornamento, c’est avant tout pour tenter d'enrayer le recul, aussi rapide que profond, de la foi romaine partout en Occident.

Àrokò Pípa Lórí Àwôn Ìtàkùn Ìròyìn Törö-fönkálé
Language Education and Social Media
Êkö Èdè àti Ìròyìn Törö-fönkálé

Àÿamõ
Ìlò àwôn ìtàkùn ìbánidörêë tàbí ìròyìn törö-fönkálé (social media) lórí êrô ayélujára (internet) yálà lórí êrô kõ¸pútà tàbí àwôn êrô ìbánisõrõ ìgbàlódé (smart phones) ló gbòde kan báyìí. WhatsApp, Facebook àti Yahoo Mail ni àfojúsùn wa nínú iÿë yìí. Àrokò pípa jë õkan pàtàkì lára àwôn ìlànà tí a fi þ báni sõrõ lórí àwôn êrô wõnyí. Látàrí èyí a ÿe àyêwò àwôn àbùdá/àkóónú àrokò pípa, bí àwôn onímõ ìÿaájú ti ÿe là á kalê àti bí wön ti ÿe þ jçyô nínú ìlò àwôn êrô wõnyìí. A ÿe àpèjúwe àrokò pípa gëgë bí ìlànà tó rôrùn láti máa fi báni sõrõ lórí àwôn ìtàkùn ìbánidörêë wõnyìí, dípò kí á máa kô õrõ ránÿë nìkan. A tçpçlç mö àwôn àrokò ìfë, ìgbéyàwó àti ômô bíbí/ìbímô. Àrokò àlùfàýÿá tó gbòde kan láàrin àwôn õdö àti õpõlôpõ ènìyàn ni a fi ÿe ìdánilárayá iÿë yìí. Gbogbo àwôn àrokò tí a lò wá bö sí abë ìsõrí àwôn àrokò ìgbàlódé. Àwôn ìdàgbàsókè tó dé bá àrokò àbáláyé ló ÿe atönà wa níbi iÿë ìwádìí yìí. Ìwádìí yìí fi hàn pé àrokò pípa lórí àwôn ìtàkùn ìbánidörêë tàbí ìròyìn törö-fönkálé ti gbêyç löwö ìlànà àrokò àbáláyé báyìí. Ó ti mú àrokò pípa di ohun tí tì tômôdétàgbà þ ÿe àmúlò lóde òní. Ó rôrùn, ó dínni lówó, kò fi àkókò ÿòfò, ó sì jë ìtëwögbà gëgë bí êrí tó fçsê múlê ní ilé çjö. Tíörì tí a fi ÿe òpó iÿë yìi ni tíörì ìbára-çni-ÿe-põ alárokò (Symbolic Interactionist Theory). Àgbálôgbábõ iÿë yìí ló mú wa dábàá pé kí àwa olùkö bá túbõ kö êkö nipa ÿiÿë àmúlò àrokò orí êrô ayélujára gëgë bí ohùn èlò ìköni ní àwôn ilé-ìwé alákõöbêrê àti girama, kí á sì máa ÿe àmúlò àwôn àrokò ìgbàlódé wõnyí lórí êrô ayélujára fún ìkëkõö ní àwôn ilé-ìwé wa gbogbo. Bó eléyìí ÿe þ mú àgböyé rôrùn fún sí i, ni yóò sì tún máa dá wôn lára yá pêlú. Ìjôba, àwôn olùdásílê ilé-êkö aládàáni àti àwa olùkö ní ipa pàtàkì láti kó lórí èyí.

Kókó Õrõ: àrokò, ìbánisõrõ, ayélujára, ìtàkùn törö-fönkálé

The article tries to take stock of the evolution of legal marriage, the family and filiation. The reform of the Italian parentage (2102/2013) and some interventions of the italian jurisprudence and Courts supranational induce to think not only on specific issues but also, more generally, on the foundation of marriage and filiation.
The rights of homosexual couples, the importance of same-sex marriage contracted abroad, the importance of the so-called social parent, the rights and protections of the cohabitant more uxorio and some issues raised by medically assisted procreation create internal tensions to fundamental institutions of civil society.
The tension becomes a valuable opportunity to gain insight into an institution and, where appropriate, to extend the content.

C’est dans le contexte d’une visibilité croissante des modes de vie homosexuels que s’inscrit cette approche de la conjugalité homosexuelle masculine. Voilà un objet que l’on croit souvent connaître tant il est présent sur le plan médiatique depuis près de dix ans, mais dont les contours se révèlent, lorsqu’on s’en approche, moins précis que l’on ne l’attendait. Le couple homosexuel, sans que l’on soit certain qu’il soit d’une nouveauté absolue, est une question essentiellement contemporaine. En France, les couples homosexuels, du fait de la similarité de sexe des individus qui les composent, se sont vus proposer d’accéder à un dispositif juridique nouveau. Et dans le même temps, ce dispositif a également été ouvert aux couples hétérosexuels. Les couples de même sexe se caractérisent-ils alors par leur spécificité ou par leur ressemblance avec les couples de sexe différent ? L’exploration ethnographique des liens conjugaux entre hommes dessine les contours de la conjugalité contemporaine. La manière d’habiter ensemble, d’investir l’espace de la maison ou de garder deux domiciles, la façon dont l’argent circule au sein du couple et dont il est géré, les raisons qui président au choix de signer un pacte civil de solidarité éclairent la manière dont les hommes en couple avec un autre homme se représentent et investissent la conjugalité : choisissent-ils de s’investir dans la vie de couple sur le modèle de la fusion conjugale ou bien cherchent-ils au contraire à préserver une part importante d’autonomie individuelle ? Quelles incidences l’appartenance des deux membres du couple au sexe masculin a-t-elle sur les faits conjugaux et sur leurs représentations de la masculinité ?

This article will map both the openness Buddhism expressed as well as the prejudices to which it was subjected towards sexual diversity, from the days of the Buddha to the present. In this 2500 year history, Buddhism did spread to widely different cultures with different sensitivities on family life, sexual orientation and gender identity. It also became doctrinally extremely diverse, stretching from soteriological Pure Land Buddhism to atheist secular Buddhism.
Throughout this diversification process, some scholars have tried to incorporate local prejudices rather than fighting them. But only in Tibet did homo-negativity become included in mainstream Buddhist teachings (although never leading to violence or persecution).  Buddhism has also shown flexibility to adjust marriage to local needs (including same-sex marriage with adoption). It did so again when the LGBTI-community in the West asked for the recognition of same-sex marriage in the second half of the 20th century. Buddhists have replied positively to this request, decades before the first legalization of secular same-sex marriage.

The essay offers a critical point of view of the contents of the recent italian law on same-sex couples relationship and on the more uxorio relationship. With regard to the same-sex couples relationship, it highlights the convergent and divergent aspects compared to marriage legal system; concerning the more uxorio relationship, the focus is on the limits of the interference of the State in private and family life and on the private autonomy in defining the relationship.

Il saggio propone una lettura critica dei contenuti della recente legge sulle unioni civili fra persone dello stesso sesso e sulla disciplina delle convivenze di fatto. Con riguardo alle prime, se ne pone in luce i tratti convergenti e divergenti rispetto alle unioni coniugali; in relazione alle seconde, l’attenzione è rivolta ai limiti di ammissibilità dell’ingerenza dello Stato nei rapporti fra privati in relazione al rispetto della loro vita privata e familiare e alla autonomia nella definizione dei loro rapporti.

In Brown v. Buhman, the recent challenge to the Utah law criminalizing polygamy brought by the stars of the reality television show Sister Wives, a federal district court determined both that strict scrutiny was required and that strict scrutiny could not be satisfied. A significant factor in this result was the state’s failure to mount a strong defense of the law, assuming that it could rely on long standing polygamy precedents such as the United States Supreme Court decision in Reynolds v. United States and more recent Tenth Circuit and Utah Supreme Court decisions to justify limiting scrutiny to rational basis and to provide legitimate reasons for the criminalization of polygamy. However, the State could have taken advantage of a then just released Canadian opinion, Reference re: Section 293 of the Criminal Code of Canada (Reference), to explain the real and expansive harms of polygamy. The Reference court undertook an exhaustive examination of the impact of polygamy on women, on children, on men, and on society, utilizing empirical evidence, expert reports, personal anecdotes, and a wide range of “Brandeis Brief” materials. This Article argues that the broad range of social and individual harms of polygamy identified in Reference provide a compelling state interest sufficient to withstand the strict scrutiny deemed necessary by Brown.
The Article also argues that the Utah statute cannot properly be understood to be a “religious gerrymander” requiring strict scrutiny. The Brown court’s determination that the Utah statute only targeted religiously motivated polygamy was based on its improper segregation of the statute’s coverage of licensed bigamy and polygamy, which the court acknowledged covered both religiously and nonreligiously motivated marriages, from the statute’s coverage of unlicensed ceremonial polygamous marriages and polygamous marital cohabitation, which the court saw as only religiously motivated. The Article goes on to show that the real target of the Utah statute are the multiple marital relationships present in all polygamy and not the religious motivation for polygamy undeniably present in much of the actual Mormon Fundamentalist polygamy practiced in Utah. The Article additionally argues that the heightened scrutiny called for by the Brown court under the Smith hybrid analysis is also not justified.
Finally, the Article briefly considers how a statute that only criminalizes religiously motivated polygamy might be justified, based on the way in which polygamous religious communities funnel teenage girls into polygamous marriages by ensuring that they never have the chance to develop sufficient autonomy to truly choose for themselves, not unlike the way the Amish in Yoder sought to limit their children’s education to prevent them from having either the desire or ability to live anything but an agrarian life. This Article suggests that confronting the autonomy-destroying impact of religiously motivated practices such as polygamy might force reconsideration of both Yoder and the limits of free exercise.

Yaoi/BL Fandom Survey (only takes 10 mins to complete): https://leeds.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/blfandomsurvey

The aim of this study is to compare Sinophone and Anglophone fan fiction consisting of female-oriented male-male romance: danmei and slash, respectively. To increase comparability, we analysed Harry Potter fan fiction in which the characters Harry and Draco are married. Male-male marriage was selected because our online Sinophone and Anglophone BL fandom surveys indicate this to be the most popular story element of the nine options we provided. We analysed five stories originally written in Chinese and five originally written in English which subsequently had been fan-translated into Chinese. Using Thematic Analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) we found some robust patterns. In contrast to the Anglophone fiction, the Sinophone tended to: stress the importance of family approval for the marriage; incorporate a wedding ceremony; employ clearly gendered roles between partners; utilise extended, as opposed to nuclear, families; and showed the couple to produce children, particularly boys. Hence, the stories mirror the relative social conservatism and social liberalism of their cultures of origin. However, in reading and writing such danmei young Chinese women are still pushing at the boundaries of the traditional family.

El capítulo analiza la situación de cómo el Estado chileno está cumpliendo (o no) sus obligaciones en materia de no discriminación, respeto al derecho a la vida privada y a tener familia, derecho a la identidad y a una educación no excluyente y segura en relación a las personas lesbianas, gay, transexuales, bisexuales e intersex (LGTBI). Para ello revisa la situación de las relaciones afectivas entre estas personas y su actual regulación en Chile, el no reconocimiento de la homoparentalidad en el país, la realidad de las personas trans y, finalmente, cómo el sistema educacional asegura a los niños, niñas y adolescentes LGTBI una educación libre de violencia. Se concluye que pese a algunos avances, como la dictación del Acuerdo de Unión Civil, aún falta mucho para que en Chile exista un cabal respeto de los derechos de las personas LGTBI, tanto en las normas como en las políticas públicas.

Since the 1990s, sexual rights, including marriage equality and LGBT education, have become the subject of global cultural conflicts. My research tracks the birth and growth of Christian conservative activism against the sexual citizenship of “tongzhi” (LGBT+) people in Taiwan. A young democracy, Taiwan is often viewed as “the beacon for Asian gays” because it is friendly to sexual minorities, recently becoming the first Asian society to legislate same-sex marriage. However, such images understate Western Christian conservatives’ global expansion into East Asia, and their influence upon the anti-gay agenda of Taiwanese pro-family activists.

In this dissertation, I analyze Taiwanese pro-family Christian activists’ mobilization, focusing upon their relationship with Euro-American conservative organizations, and examining the transnational networks they have developed. My research bridges sociological research on religion, sexualities, and transnationalism. It analyzes sexualities in relation to the growth of global Christianity, revealing transnational networks of moral conservatism, and critically examining the growth of global social inequalities.

Le sexe est chose mentale. Il colore notre vision du monde, il transforme la connaissance que nous en avons, et en partie même il la fonde. La sexualité implique un rapport spécifique au vrai, au beau, au bien, autrement dit, un savoir, une esthétique, une éthique, une politique.
Or, quand le désir change, la vision du monde en est changée. Que sait un gai sur le monde ? Quelle expérience en a-t-il ? Qu’en ignore-t-il ? Trois mille ans de littérature occidentale ont exploré l’intellect hétérosexuel et la vision du monde qui l’accompagne. Il est temps d’explorer une autre face, celle du savoir gai, celle de l’étrangement.
Il ne sera pas seulement question d’amour, de drague, de fantasmes, de pornographie et de taille du pénis, mais aussi de Platon, Vélasquez, Proust, Oshima et Cat Stevens, des chauffeurs de taxi, des colonies de vacances, du mariage pour tous, de la longévité des chats et des baleines bleues. De la vie érotique de l’auteur, et de celle de Jésus également. Bref, de la vie tout court.
Lecteur, tu en apprendras ici beaucoup sur l’homosexualité, sur l’hétérosexualité, mais d’abord et surtout sur toi-même. Tu es le sujet de ce livre, toi et ton désir.

L'homoparentalité est au cœur de l'un des débats de société les plus riches et les plus controversés de ce début de siècle. Hier une utopie, elle est désormais une réalité des sociétés occidentales au travers de l'adoption, de la coparentalité et des procréations médicalement assistées (IAD et GPA). Cet ouvrage, résolument pluridisciplinaire, restitue les interventions de la IIIe conférence internationale sur l'homoparentalité et présente un état des lieux complet de la question : sociologique, psychologique, psychanalytique, ethnologique, anthropologique, juridique, etc. Les auteurs, dont bon nombre sont étrangers, ont largement exploré la dimension internationale de l'homoparentalité comme autant de sources d'information qui viennent enrichir le débat hexagonal. Ainsi, le fruit du travail des scientifiques qui ont participé à cet ouvrage devrait éclairer chaque citoyen quant à sa propre opinion. Il devrait aussi nourrir la réflexion politique en offrant un
outil au service de choix de société en constante élaboration.

A new Civil Code was put into force in Romania the 1st of October 2011. This book represents the concluding volume for the researches conducted in the frame of the project entitled "Evolution of family as a concept and its relevance for the inheritance order - a socio-juridical, religious and philosophical investigation", financed by the Romanian Research Authority. Its objective was the gathering of a portfolio of conclusions upon which we tried to establish the degree of efficiency of a largely transplanted legislation upon the XIXth-XXth centuries conceptions and realities of the Romanian society, as well as the quality of the response prepared by the new civil legislation in the XXIst. The research has an inter- and also an intra-disciplinary approach and through its connection with the recent enactment of the New Civil Code, by seeking to verify whether this acknowledges the Romanian specific reality within the European Union. It analyzes the tradition of the family relations in the Romanian society of the XIXth and beginning of the XXth, by taking into account the historical and sociological factors, as well as the influence exerted by the religion. As a consequence, it measures the effects of a legislation that was massively borrowed on the basis of a program that was politically constructed upon the philosophical beliefs derived from the Illuminism and we will be able to appreciate and explain its grounding.
Finally, the research tries to answer some specific questions: what family model is the probable triumphant within the reform projects stemming from the interwar period? how did the case receive law the 1944 reform of the successional situation of the surviving spouse? have the soviet-inspired legislative measures of 1954 reached their declared ideological purpose to ensure an equitable freedom within the family and the achievement of the co-interest of the spouses? have these measures had any influence over the legal successional devolution? Finally, the research seeked for the current meaning of the notion of family in Romania (and elsewhere): its definition, composition, the configuration of the personal rapports within its ambit. The answers that were uncovered led to identifying the patrimonial consequences which may arise.
The final purpose was to obtain results which would allow for a critical analysis, undergone in complete understanding of the solutions promoted by the new Romanian Civil Code.

On 1 December 2013, Croatia voted in a referendum on the constitutional definition of marriage. Whilst recent scholarship highlighted the symbolism nature of the referendum in domestic politics, its European dimension has not been reflected on. Using Leconte's notion of value-based Euroscepticism this article explores the role of European politics in the marriage referendum, using electoral data at the municipal level. As the analysis demonstrates that the referendum, at least partly, was a proactive attempt to halt the Europeanisation of same-sex marriage, the article also sheds light on local resistance to EU's homonationalist politics.

This paper takes up the site of same-sex marriages in India to argue that queer feminist discourses on marriage often fail to account for the complex ways in which marriage subverts heteronormative norms. The paper reads three recent moments of public articulation of queer intimacies in India and the way they have captured the mainstream imaginary to first rehearse the dominant arguments for and against marriage. Then it deploys ethnographic observations to problematize such a binary frame of debate to closely read what work such marriages perform within the scripts of normative institutions like the family, education and the state in India.

This study intended to identify the relationship of religious practices of college students from sectarian and non-sectarian sector, and their attitude towardssame-sex marriage. The issue of same-sex marriage is considered as one of the sensitive concerns in the Philippines society since it is a Catholic influenced country. The respondents in this study were total of 781 college students from 385 samples of Adamson University and 396 samples of Polytechnic University of the Philippines who were selected through stratified sampling method. In addition, data were gathered for the entire month of September 2015 through online and self-administered surveys. The results revealed that college students from both sectors have different general attitudes toward same-sex marriage despite of being highly involved to their religious practices. Respondents from Adamson University, sectarian sector, opposed to the issue, while college students from PUP, non-sectarian sector, supported same-sex marriage. Further, this study found out that spiritual association of an educational institution plays a small but a significant role in explaining attitude towards same-sex marriage.

Consummation is a legal requirement for marriage in any number of jurisdictions. Liberal philosophers are bound to be especially hostile to consummation requirements for any number of reasons, not the least of which is that legally requiring consummation for marriage would seem to be an obstacle to legally recognizing same-sex marriages. However, I contend that there is a presumptive liberal-friendly rationale for including a consummation requirement in marriage law, a rationale that follows from a more general liberal rationale for marriage law that I find plausible, one does not preclude the possibility of same-sex marriage in a liberal state. While there is much about marriage law in current practice that would be revised or abandoned in a fully just liberal state, the requirement that married partners consummate their marriage is surprisingly not one of them.

This article explores the ways in which coupledom is promoted through contemporary family policy in the UK. It does this in the context of dominant political discourses suggesting that broken relationships are a major political problem and the cause of almost all that is wrong with British society today. The paper performs an analysis of recent family policies, revealing narratives claiming that stable coupled relationships are the foundation of a strong nation. The reverse of this narrative, therefore, is that to not be in—or even worse, to not even aspire to be in—a coupled relationship is not just a personal failure, but a failure for the nation as a whole. The article therefore argues that the UK government encourages a particular type of intimate relationship, despite an increasing recognition of ’diverse’ family forms. Build- ing upon Rich’s notion of compulsory heterosexuality, the article concludes that what we are witnessing in current British society is not compulsory heterosexuality, but compulsory coupledom.

This edited collection provides a forum for rigorous analysis of the necessity for both legal and social change with regard to regulation of same-sex relationships and rainbow families, the status of civil partnership as a concept and the lived reality of equality for LGBTQ+ persons.


Twenty-eight jurisdictions worldwide have now legalised same-sex marriage and many others some level of civil partnership. In contrast other jurisdictions refuse to recognise or even criminalise same-sex relationships. At a Council of Europe level, there is no requirement for contracting states to legalise same-sex marriage. Whilst the Court of Justice of the European Union now requires contracting states to recognise same-sex marriages for the purpose of free movement and residency rights, unlike the US Supreme Court, it does not require EU Member States to legalise same-sex marriage. Law and Sociology scholars from five key jurisdictions (England and Wales, Italy, Australia, Canada, and the Republic of Ireland) examine the role of the Council of Europe, European Union and further international regimes. A balanced approach between the competing views of critically analytical rights based theorists and queer and feminist theorists interrogates the current international consensus in this fast moving area. The incrementalist theory whilst offering a methodology for future advances continues to be critiqued. All contributions from differing perspectives expose that even for those jurisdictions who have legalised same-sex marriage, still further and continuous work needs to be done.

Introductory courses dealing with sex, gender and sexuality are usually quite biased, going as far as to deny the reality of biology. Drawing on the Catholic tradition (Aquinas), this article presents an accessible argument aimed at restoring deliberative balance in the classroom.

Η παρούσα μελέτη φιλοδοξεί να παρουσιάσει τη σχετική νομική και δικαιοπολιτική συζήτηση, και να επιχειρηματολογήσει υπέρ της άποψης, ότι ο γάμος δύο ομόφυλων προσώπων είναι έγκυρος στην ελληνική έννομη τάξη de lege lata. Κυρίως όμως φιλοδοξεί να αποτελέσει πρόσκληση σε μια ανοικτή και σύμφωνη με τους όρους, τις μεθόδους και τους περιορισμούς της επιστήμης του δικαίου συζήτηση σχετικά με ένα θέμα στο οποίο η συνήθης αντίδραση στην ελληνική δημόσια σφαίρα είναι βασισμένη σε προκαταλήψεις και στερεοτυπική πρόσληψη της πραγματικότητας. Μέχρι σήμερα, στη συντριπτική πλειοψηφία των περιπτώσεων, η συζήτηση – εντός και εκτός νομικής επιστήμης – εξαντλείται στο επιχείρημα ότι η διαφορά φύλου αποτελεί ‘αυτονοήτως’ συστατικό στοιχείο της ίδιας της έννοιας του γάμου και είναι ‘φυσικά’ αδιανόητος γλωσσικά ο ‘γάμος’ ομοφύλων, επιχειρήματα που οδηγούν αξιωματικά και άνευ ετέρου στην κήρυξή του ως ανυπόστατου.
Ωστόσο, από τη στιγμή που μια – μειοψηφική έστω – ομάδα, οι ομοφυλόφιλοι, ισχυρίζονται ότι ο αποκλεισμός του γάμου ομοφύλων αποτελεί παραβίαση των θεμελιωδών τους δικαιωμάτων, η Πολιτεία και η κοινωνία οφείλουν να συζητήσουν το ζήτημα απροκατάληπτα. Δεν είναι τυχαίο ότι, σε όλο το δυτικό κόσμο, το αίτημα για ομόφυλο γάμο βρίσκεται στην καρδιά της σύγχρονης συνταγματικής και πολιτικής συζήτησης, παρά το γεγονός ότι άμεσα αφορά μια μειοψηφία μόνον, εκείνη των ομοφυλοφίλων. Ο λόγος είναι ότι θέτει υπό κρίση την πίστη και δοκιμάζει τα όρια της προσήλωσης κάθε πολιτικής κοινωνίας (αλλά και κάθε κρίνοντος υποκειμένου) στην αρχή της ισότητας, ενώ ταυτοχρόνως αποτελεί εναργές παράδειγμα των συγκρούσεων που μπορεί να γεννήσει η ένταση ανάμεσα στα ουσιαστικά και τα διαδικαστικά - πλειοψηφικά στοιχεία της φιλελεύθερης δημοκρατίας μας.
Πριν παραθέσουμε τα νομικά επιχειρήματα σχετικά με το επίμαχο ζήτημα, θα εξετάσουμε κριτικά την έννοια του γάμου, τη νομική φύση και το περιεχόμενό του, τόσο από αστικολογική όσο και από συνταγματολογική άποψη (υπό ΙΙ). Στο κεφάλαιο ΙΙΙ θα ρίξουμε μια ματιά στη νομολογία των δύο ευρωπαϊκών δικαστηρίων ΕΔΔΑ και ΔΕΚ, τα οποία, όπως θα δούμε, διστάζουν να υποκαταστήσουν τον εθνικό ερμηνευτή του Συντάγματος σε θέματα που άπτονται των κοινωνικών ηθών και αντιλήψεων, όπως το εδώ συζητούμενο. Η νομική επιχειρηματολογία υφαίνεται γύρω από τη θεμελιώδη αρχή της ισότητας των φύλων και απαγόρευσης δυσμενών διακρίσεων (υπό IV). Η παρέκκλιση από τις αρχές αυτές εγκαλεί μια σειρά νομικών και δικαιοπολιτικών επιχειρημάτων που είτε χρησιμοποιούνται ρητά είτε υπονοούνται και τα οποία θα εξετάσουμε στο κεφάλαιο V.
Τέλος, θα τολμήσουμε να αρθρώσουμε κάποιες σκέψεις πάνω στο ερώτημα αν νομιμοποιείται ο νομοθέτης να υπερβεί τις κρατούσες κοινωνικές αντιλήψεις και ο δικαστής τη – μη ρητά εκφρασμένη, αλλά υπονοούμενη – πολιτική βούληση του ιστορικού νομοθέτη, προκειμένου να αναγνωρίσουν το γάμο ομοφύλων.

Der Aufsatz diskutiert zwei Argumente, die bisweilen für die Möglichkeit einer Segnung gleichgeschlechtlicher Partnerschaften vorgebracht werden. Darüber hinaus stellt er ein in der Diskussion bislang viel zu wenig berücksichtigtes Argument vor, das gegen eine Segnung gleichgeschlechtlicher Partnerschaften sprechen könnte.

In Lawrence v. Texas (2003), the U.S. Supreme Court recognized a right to choose homosexual relations and relationships. Same-sex marriage bans unconstitutionally burden this right because they have the purpose and effect of channeling individuals into heterosexual relations and relationships. Bisexuals are in the best position to raise this claim because they share homosexuals’ interest in the freedom to choose same-sex partners, yet are more easily steered toward different-sex partners by marriage’s enormous prestige and benefits.

An argument from bisexuality for same-sex marriage refutes on normative rather than empirical grounds what this article calls “the politics of containment,” a politics fueled by the fear that recognizing gay rights will increase the popularity of “homosexual lifestyle choices.” To date, gay rights advocates have accommodated this fear by erasing bisexuality and obscuring the erotic choice bisexuality represents. In same-sex marriage litigation, this tendency manifests in three prominent equal protection arguments: (1) “the conduct-status conflation,” which casts laws that disadvantage homosexual relationships as discriminations against homosexual people; (2) “the claim of identity negation,” which holds that a homosexual’s right to marry heterosexually is no right at all; and (3) “the immutability excuse,” which pleads for heightened scrutiny on the ground that sexual orientation is inalterable. Each of these arguments, as presently articulated, is legally and strategically flawed.

There are several reasons, beyond legal plausibility, why the bisexual’s liberty-based claim is worth raising in same-sex marriage litigation. First, the argument gives voice to the real grievances of a large and neglected gay rights constituency. Second, by framing same-sex marriage bans as coercive as well as discriminatory, the argument honors the difference between liberating homosexuality and liberating homosexuals, advancing a universalizing conception of gay rights that may enable detection of subtler compulsions than marriage. Finally, by framing this civil rights imperative as a matter of sexual liberty, the argument develops a constitutional value that, in Lawrence’s words, “persons in every generation…can invoke in their own search for greater freedom.”