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Social structures and society in general have evolved over time. What was once unheard of, in many areas of life, has come to become commonplace. Relationships have evolved too and with this evolution has emerged the need for changes to family laws that deal with relationships. One such change is increase in gay and same sex relationships. With time, the need for gay marriages has made many states and countries recognize the need for gay marriage laws. However, these laws are not commonplace everywhere and this results in a number of legal questions like the ones answered in this article. What states consider gay marriages to be legal?
Currently, there is only one state in the US that considers gay marriages as legal. That is Massachusetts. However, only the residents of the state may be permitted to marry there. Canada is another place where same sex couples can get married without residency. However, there are some states in the US that consider same sex civil unions as being legal. Some of these states are New Jersey, California, Hawaii, Maine, Washington, Nevada, Oregon, Illinois, Wisconsin, Delaware and Colorado. What “civil rights” grounds was gay marriage law passed on?
The gay marriage law was passed on the basis of the equal protection due process clause of the New York and US constitutions. This clause states that all people should be treated equally irrespective of race, sex, age and sexual preferences that have been added recently. This means that people can marry anyone they want to. Would a gay couple that is married in Canada be considered to be legally married in the US if they live in California?
The marriage that took place in Canada may not be valid in the US since US does not recognize gay marriages. One may have to register the marriage in California. The couple will have to file for divorce as per the divorce laws of Canada if they want a divorce in the future. However, if the couple lives in the US and neither of the spouse tries to sue for anything, one may not have any problems even if it is a gay couple. If an ex-spouse remarries in the state of California, will spousal support end? What will be the impact on the support if the ex-spouse is in a same sex relationship?
Normally, spousal support may come to an end when a spouse remarries or gets into another relationship. The law does not allow a person to live with someone else and use the spousal support from the ex-spouse. Though the state of California does not recognize gay marriages, it considers domestic partnership as legal. This can be considered to be the basis to cancel spousal support. One may have to petition to terminate support in court. A gay marriage is a subject that is debated widely and there is no one opinion about its legality. If a same sex couple wants to get married, they may have many questions about the legal aspects of such a union. In such cases, one may ask a family lawyer for advice and more information.
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