1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910823727203321

Autore

Merin Yuval

Titolo

Equality for same-sex couples [[electronic resource] ] : the legal recognition of gay partnerships in Europe and the United States / / Yuval Merin

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Chicago, : University of Chicago Press, c2002

ISBN

1-282-53739-3

9786612537394

0-226-52033-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (415 p.)

Disciplina

342.087

346.401/6

346.4016

Soggetti

Same-sex marriage - Law and legislation - Europe

Gay couples - Legal status, laws, etc - Europe

Same-sex marriage - Law and legislation - United States

Gay couples - Legal status, laws, etc - United States

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 359-383) and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Tables -- Acknowledgments -- Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. The Changing Institution of Marriage and the Exclusion of Same-Sex Couples -- Chapter 3. Registered Partnerships in the Nordic Countries -- Chapter 4. Same-Sex Partnerships in the Netherlands -- Chapter 5. Recognition of Same-Sex Partnerships in Other European Countries -- Chapter 6. The Cohabitation Model -- Chapter 7. Same-Sex Partnerships in the United States -- Chapter 8. Contrasts between the Models of Recognition and the Status of Same-Sex Partnerships in the United States and Northern Europe -- Chapter 9. Domestic Partnership, Registered Partnership, and Marriage -- Chapter 10. Alternatives to Marriage and the Doctrine of "Separate but Equal" -- Chapter 11. The Feasibility of Opening Up Marriage to Same-Sex Couples -- Chapter 12. Conclusion -- Appendix A. European Same-Sex Legislation in Translation -- Appendix B. Developments in the United Kingdom, Israel, South Africa, and Brazil --



Bibliography -- Index

Sommario/riassunto

During the past three decades, nations all over the world have been debating whether to allow same-sex couples to marry, or at least grant these couples various rights associated with marriage. In Equality for Same-Sex Couples, Yuval Merin presents the first comparative study of the legal regulation of same-sex partnerships worldwide, as well as a unique survey of the status of same-sex couples in Europe. Merin begins by providing a historical overview of the transformation of marriage from antiquity to the present. He then identifies and critically compares four principal models for the legal regulation and recognition of same-sex partnerships: civil marriage, registered partnership, domestic partnership, and cohabitation. Merin concludes that all of the models except civil marriage discriminate against gays and lesbians just as the "separate but equal" doctrine discriminated against African Americans; thus, so-called alternatives to marriage, even if they provide the same rights and benefits as marriage, are inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional.