European unions.Score another one for Europe in the fight to grant gay men and lesbians the legal and financial benefits of marriage. The United Kingdom is joining such neighboring European Union European Union (EU), name given since the ratification (Nov., 1993) of the Treaty of European Union, or Maastricht Treaty, to the European Community countries as Belgium, the Netherlands, and France in instituting some form of recognition for gay couples. Although not technically marriage, the Brits' plans are definitely more progressive than anything currently found in the United States--excepting Vermont and Massachusetts. At the end of March the British government introduced the Civil Partnership Bill, which allows same-sex couples to make record of their partnerships and gain such rights as pension benefits and parental protections and care for children. It also includes prescribed come directives for couples who decide to break up. By some estimates 42,000 British gay couples will be recognized by the year 2050. Individual parliaments across the United Kingdom, including Scotland's, have started adding the bill to their body of law. In Spain newly installed prime minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero--who has publicly bashed the Bush administration for the Iraq war--has vowed to legalize le·gal·ize tr.v. le·gal·ized, le·gal·iz·ing, le·gal·iz·es To make legal or lawful; authorize or sanction by law. le marriage for gay couples, which would grant them full equal protection under Spanish law. His election-year promise could soon become a reality, although the country's Catholic base is getting fired up. In February the E.U. parliament called on all of its member slates to recognize gay unions. In fact, the push for gay marriage and greater social equality "Equal Rights" redirects here. for the motto, see Equal Rights (motto) Social equality is a social state of affairs in which certain different people have the same status in a certain respect, at the very least in voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, the extent of is largely being driven by the European Commission European Commission, branch of the governing body of the European Union (EU) invested with executive and some legislative powers. Located in Brussels, Belgium, it was founded in 1967 when the three treaty organizations comprising what was then the European Community . One reason is that the governing body Noun 1. governing body - the persons (or committees or departments etc.) who make up a body for the purpose of administering something; "he claims that the present administration is corrupt"; "the governance of an association is responsible to its members"; "he wants to cut down on the number of civil rights complaints that could be filed by citizens against certain countries, says Roger Lancaster, director of the cultural studies program at George Mason University Named after American revolutionary, patriot and founding father George Mason, the university was founded as a branch of the University of Virginia in 1957 and became an independent institution in 1972. in Virginia. So why does the United States seem so far behind Europe on the issue of granting marriage rights to same-sex couples? "The easy answer is that the religious right is far, far more powerful here than in any other industrial democracy," Lancaster says. In addition, "Those other countries that have found ways to accommodate gay relationships almost all have strong laborite la·bor·ite n. 1. A member or supporter of a labor movement or union. 2. Laborite A member of a political party representing labor. , social democratic, or socialist traditions." |
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