Thursday, August 26, 2010

A Contentious Debate: Same-Sex Marriage in the U.S. – Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life – July 9, 2009


Navigate this Report:
A National Controversy

Differing Views

The Beginning of the Debate

The Massachusetts Decision and Its Aftermath

Recent State Actions

Civil Unions and Domestic Partnerships
The Road Ahead

A National Controversy

In recent years, the debate over same-sex marriage has grown from an issue that occasionally arose in a few states to a nationwide controversy. Indeed, in the last five years, the debate over gay marriage has been heard in the halls of the U.S. Congress, at the White House, in dozens of state legislatures and courtrooms, and in the rhetoric of election campaigns at both the national and state levels. Moreover, the battle over whether gays and lesbians should be allowed to wed shows no signs of abating. In the last year alone, three states have banned same-sex marriage and four states have legalized the practice.

About the Pew Forum

The Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life, launched in 2001, seeks to promote a deeper understanding of issues at the intersection of religion and public affairs.

The Pew Forum conducts surveys, demographic analyses and other social science research on important aspects of religion and public life in the U.S. and around the world. It also provides a neutral venue for discussions of timely issues through roundtables and briefings.

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