U.S. signs same sex marriage into federal law infographic
Graphic shows countries that have legalised same-sex marriage.
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MARRIAGE

U.S. signs same sex marriage into federal law

By Phil Bainbridge

December 14, 2022 - The Respect for Marriage Act signed by U.S. President Joe Biden requires the federal government to recognise all marriages – including same-sex and interracial marriages – protecting them from any reverse by the conservative-dominated Supreme Court.

Although Justice Clarence Thomas did not mention interrarcial marriages in his opinion when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, he called into question the legality of other rights established by Supreme Court verdicts including same-sex marriages and the right to contraception, opening all of them to legal challenge.

There are just 32 countries where same sex marriage has been legalised, 22 through legislation and 10 through court decisions. In addition, an advisory decision by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2018 stated that all 20 Organisation of American States’ signatory countries are obliged to make same sex marriage legal. The European Court of Justice ruled that all EU countries must recognise same-sex marriage for the purposes of immigration, regardless of whether or not it is legal in those countries.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 14/12/2022; STORY: Graphic News
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