An open question about gay marriage:

[joe hx]

I think there should be complete and total separation between a religious marriage and a lawful civil union. A church should have full rights to say if you're gay you can't get married, or even be a member of a church. A church marriage should also have absolutely no effect on your legal status, in fact shouldn't even be recognized by the government.

I don't think the government should recognize marriages any more than it recognizes baptisms, confirmations, or bar mitzvah.

[Hobbs]

Play that violin for me too. I have a lot of friends who want to come home from Canada, but they can't because their marriages are not valid here. And I, for one, would love to be able to celebrate their unions.

Why would a Canadian marriage license be valid in another country in the first place? The Full Faith and Credit Clause only affects documents between the states.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpz8n0gtarA

[Fryk]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i106wzgmz9I

Ok, I know you play the violin when someone is sad. So, what emotion are you supposed to be mocking when you play a CELLO?

[Hobbs]

Ok, I know you play the violin when someone is sad. So, what emotion are you supposed to be mocking when you play a CELLO?

It's Suiten fur Violoncello by Bach; it's a cello accompanied by a violin. Considering it's a short piece (the version I posted is :42 seconds long) it was an allusion to playing a small violin.

[Arcade Man D]

Why would a Canadian marriage license be valid in another country in the first place? The Full Faith and Credit Clause only affects documents between the states.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpz8n0gtarA

Actually, I think that it's a federal law that foreign marriage licenses are valid if the union would be valid in the US.

HOWEVER: Some states have extended recognition of out-of-state/foreign marriage licenses to include same-sex marriages (New York being the first to do so as a "first step" toward gay marriage).

So, a homosexual couple who married in Canada (or Iowa) could live in New York and have their marriage recognized a the state level and receive all the non-federal benefits of marriage.

[Hobbs]

Arcade Man, could you find this federal law for me? I know some foreign documents are accepted through treaties, etc...

[KnitShoni]

Sorry, I wasn't aware the only valid heterosexual marriages in the US were those licensed here.

[Hobbs]

Well, a Mexican driver's license isn't proof enough to get a US driver's license or prove identity, as my brother knows all too well. I would suspect that, unless there is an international agreement, nations don't have to recognize foreign documents.

Also, Arcade Man said, "Actually, I think that it's a federal law that foreign marriage licenses are valid if the union would be valid in the US."

Since it wouldn't be valid in the US, a gay marriage from Canada wouldn't be recognized by the US government, nor is it illegal to be as such.

[crashhelmet]

Also, Arcade Man said, "Actually, I think that it's a federal law that foreign marriage licenses are valid if the union would be valid in the US."

Since it wouldn't be valid in the US, a gay marriage from Canada wouldn't be recognized by the US government, nor is it illegal to be as such.

Unless the laws have changed, marriages in foreign countries are not recognized here in the US.

My when my sister first married her ex-husband, they got married in Mexico. When they came back up here, they had to get remarried because the government wouldn't recognize it. That was almost 30 years ago, so it's possible the laws have changed. Then again, it's possible they have not.

CH

[jackfaire]

What about for immigrants? Do people who immigrate have to get remarried?

[Hobbs]

That's probably a separate issue since they've become naturalized.

[jackfaire]

That's probably a separate issue since they've become naturalized.

How so? If I get married in Mexico and then come back to America and have to redo my wedding here because a wedding performed in Mexico is not valid because it was performed in Mexico then why would you suddenly honor the same wedding for another couple?


Wouldn't that be a double standard?

[KnitShoni]

How so? If I get married in Mexico and then come back to America and have to redo my wedding here because a wedding performed in Mexico is not valid because it was performed in Mexico then why would you suddenly honor the same wedding for another couple?


Wouldn't that be a double standard?

It would be.

And, for the record, everything I've found states that marriages performed in other countries are valid if, as Arcade Man D says, they would be valid here. Marriages licenses, apparently, are not subjected to the same considerations as, say, driver's licenses.

[Hobbs]

How so? If I get married in Mexico and then come back to America and have to redo my wedding here because a wedding performed in Mexico is not valid because it was performed in Mexico then why would you suddenly honor the same wedding for another couple?


Wouldn't that be a double standard?

I meant in the sense that, through the naturalization process, there's probably a different procedure for getting a foreign wedding/marriage legitimized. I don't know immigration law, but that would seem to make sense. No need to fly off the handle.

[Boozy]

No need to fly off the handle.

I don't know what about Jack's post made you think that he was "flying off the handle."