Marriage Equality Reaches America
As social media seems to explode about the Supreme Court of the United States of America's (SCOTUS) decision to legalise gay marriage in the US and Twitter can't seem to stop talking about how great the world is, I have to admit that there's this voice in the back of my mind that wants to tell Americans "Welcome to the club! Glad that you finally made it..." For a country that prides itself on its inclusiveness and democratic
values, why did it have to take so long to legalise marriage for all
people?
As the above map shows, there are many other countries where marriage is legal for all couples, regardless of their gender. In fact, both of my countries - The Netherlands and New Zealand - have already legalised gay marriage. According to the data on the website, The Netherlands did so in 2000, followed by Belgium in 2003 and Spain and Canada in 2005. It took New Zealand until 2013 to decide that they too agree that adults are capable of making their own choices with regards to love and marriage.
America is not the only country that has legalised gay marriage and it is certainly not the first. While the United States of America is certainly a large country, it is not the boss of the world, the policeman of the world or the leader of the world. It may be large and influential, however it is just one country. However, now that America has taken the plunge, I can only hope that many more countries will follow. After all, love is love and adults are capable of making their own decisions, choosing their own partners and deciding for themselves who they want to spend their lives with.
The U.S. is now among nearly two dozen countries that allow same-sex marriage nationwide: http://t.co/GDlydLBCWW pic.twitter.com/awVwTfyHXi
— PewResearch Religion (@PewReligion) June 26, 2015
As the above map shows, there are many other countries where marriage is legal for all couples, regardless of their gender. In fact, both of my countries - The Netherlands and New Zealand - have already legalised gay marriage. According to the data on the website, The Netherlands did so in 2000, followed by Belgium in 2003 and Spain and Canada in 2005. It took New Zealand until 2013 to decide that they too agree that adults are capable of making their own choices with regards to love and marriage.
America is not the only country that has legalised gay marriage and it is certainly not the first. While the United States of America is certainly a large country, it is not the boss of the world, the policeman of the world or the leader of the world. It may be large and influential, however it is just one country. However, now that America has taken the plunge, I can only hope that many more countries will follow. After all, love is love and adults are capable of making their own decisions, choosing their own partners and deciding for themselves who they want to spend their lives with.
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