Marriage, as defined by the civil law, is currently available to same-sex couples in five countries. The Netherlands was the first country to allow same-sex marriage in 2001. Same-sex marriages are also recognized in Belgium, Spain, Canada and South Africa.

Massachusetts was the first state in the United States to allow same-sex couples to obtain marriage licenses.[15] This was the result of a 4 to 3 decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Goodridge v. Department of Health, which found that the state constitution required same-sex couples be granted marriage licenses under the "common benefits" clause,[16]. In Massachusetts, while there were initial efforts to limit the decision legislatively[17] or pass a state constitutional amendment reversing the decision,[18] ultimately marriage licenses began to be issued to same-sex couples. These couples enjoy all the benefits of Heterosexual couples under Massachusetts state law, including the right to inherit, sue for......

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Title: Same Sex Marriage
Approximate Word Count: 934
Approximate Pages: 4 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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