And he talks about this in a -- not about religious sacraments, but civil marriage.
Last September, the Alliance Party voted in support of legislation to allow gay civil marriage in Northern Ireland.
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Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone will launch a consultation later this month on how to make civil marriage available to same-sex couples.
It allows each religion to decide whether to acknowledge same-sex marriage, but extends the option of civil marriage to any two individuals.
The civil marriage in France is compulsory, and so if there is a change in the civil code on marriage, it affects everybody.
Under government proposals, due to be developed and then published on Thursday by Equalities Minister Maria Miller, churches and other venues will be allowed to "opt in" to holding civil marriage ceremonies.
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"I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage, " Baldacci, a Democrat, said in a statement released as he signed the bill.
He has made clear that his support for the right of every American to decide who he or she loves and the right to marriage is a matter of civil marriage, and that religious institutions -- churches and -- have their own sacraments and decide what they are.
And there was no mention of legalising gay marriage, which will please some Conservative backbenchers who have criticised it as a distraction from fixing the economy, but the Home Office said it remained committed to introducing same-sex civil marriage "by the end of this Parliament" and a consultation was "still ongoing".
"I believe that the government have set out clearly their intention to provide both equality of access and robust protections for faith groups who do not in conscience support same-sex civil marriage, ensuring that they will not be forced to conduct same-sex marriage ceremonies or have them conducted on their premises, or be prevented from expressing their views on the matter, " she said.
If civil unions would be equal to marriage, you would have to ask if Vermonters would trade their marriage for a civil union.
The amended version distinguishes between civil and religious marriage.
"As the demand for same-sex marriage is uncertain, and because these economic benefits are not guaranteed to be additional (for example, the spending on a civil partnership or marriage ceremony may not be additional if the couple and guests cut back on spending in other areas), we use zero benefit as our best estimate, " it explains.
They oppose the Scottish government's draft Marriage and Civil Partnership Bill, which ends its consultation period on Wednesday.
As one put it, civil unions really are marriage by another name, so fairness would dictate that they be called marriage.
In draft responses to consultation on the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill, the local authority said it welcomed changes to the law.
In the majority of Central American and Caribbean countries there are no major legal or social initiatives regarding gay marriage or civil partnerships.
Forced Marriage Protection Orders were introduced in 2008 for England, Wales and Northern Ireland under the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007.
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Today, however, he professes to be opposed to abortion and has spoken out strongly against same-sex marriage and civil unions for gay couples.
The proposals have received cross-party support in Holyrood and the government is continuing to seek views on its Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill.
How will housing of same-sex couples be handled on military bases in states that do not recognize such relationships with marriage or civil unions?
Registrars are encouraged to report their suspicions of a suspect marriage or civil partnership under Section 24 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
Since his election he's often expressed his dismay over growing secularism in Europe, with many countries passing or planning to legalize same-sex marriage or civil union agreements.
At issue for the court was the legality of two articles in the civil code stipulating that marriage can only be between a man and a woman.
The bill would also allow same-sex couples to convert a civil partnership to a marriage and enable married transsexual people to gain legal recognition in their acquired gender without having to end their marriage.
Obama's declaration of his support for marriage equality the day after North Carolina residents banned both same-sex marriage and civil unions in a referendum is only the latest encapsulation of the dialectical interaction of movement and countermovement: Each effort to limit marriage equality has led to a countereffort on behalf of equal rights.
Some Muslim Britons contract an Islamic marriage (but not a civil one) and then fail to confer on the bride the marriage settlement that would be obligatory in say, Pakistan.
It is often said that Americans disapprove of gay marriage but support civil unions.
They said we knew civil unions weren't marriage but we thought we would at least get some basic protections.
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