Equality for Same-Sex Couples: The Legal Recognition of Gay Partnerships in Europe and the United States - Softcover

Merin, Yuval

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226520323 ISBN 13: 9780226520322

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2002

Synopsis

During the past three decades, nations all over the world have been debating whether to allow same-sex couples to marry, or at least grant these couples various rights associated with marriage. In Equality for Same-Sex Couples, Yuval Merin presents the first comparative study of the legal regulation of same-sex partnerships worldwide, as well as a unique survey of the status of same-sex couples in Europe.

Merin begins by providing a historical overview of the transformation of marriage from antiquity to the present. He then identifies and critically compares four principal models for the legal regulation and recognition of same-sex partnerships: civil marriage, registered partnership, domestic partnership, and cohabitation. Merin concludes that all of the models except civil marriage discriminate against gays and lesbians just as the "separate but equal" doctrine discriminated against African Americans; thus, so-called alternatives to marriage, even if they provide the same rights and benefits as marriage, are inherently unequal and therefore unconstitutional.

About this title

About the Author:

Yuval Merin is law lecturer at the College of Management School of Law in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Review:

"Equality for Same-Sex Couples is well researched and argued. Merin grapples with a legal issue that is being raised more and more frequently in jurisdictions around the world. This book will meet a growing demand among lawyers and policy makers for more information and analysis relating to same-sex partnerships." - Robert Wintemute, editor of Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Partnerships

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0226520323
• ISBN 13: 9780226520322
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 413