Gay unions gaining global favor

If California were an independent country, it would be among a “Group of 10” economic powers, with a population greater than Canada’s or Australia’s.

So, when California moves on something as controversial as same-sex marriage, it affects not only other U.S. states, but countries around the world.

A California court decision in May establishing a right to same-sex marriages - which faces a ballot challenge in November - is a major battle in a global culture war that is slowly winning legal acceptance for some form of gay union.

“Every year, a new country is joining the club,” said Katharina Boele-Woelki, a professor at Utrecht University in the Netherlands who specializes in international and comparative family law.

About 20 countries and 10 U.S. states now allow either same-sex marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships.

“Worldwide, I think the countries that allow this will increase slowly but steadily,” Ms. Boele-Woelki said.

According to the Los Angeles Times, more than 6,300 marriage licenses - more than double the average for that time period - were granted in California in the first week after the state Supreme Court’s ruling allowing same-sex marriage went into effect June 16.

However, the issue isn’t settled yet. The initiative slated for the November ballot, if passed, would amend the state constitution to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman. While a May 28 Field Poll concluded that a majority of Californians support gay marriage, a first in the state’s history, polls since have been inconclusive.

Maggie Gallagher, president of the National Organization for Marriage, a group that promotes traditional marriage, called the vote the “ninth inning in the World Series of the marriage debate.”

Generally, governments that adopt same-sex marriage legislation lean to the left on the political spectrum. They include the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and Canada.

In European countries, there’s a more laissez-faire attitude toward sex and marriage, said Kimberly Richman, a professor of sociology and legal studies at the University of San Francisco.

Religion also plays a role. While the U.S. religious right has made opposition to same-sex marriage a central tenet of its political agenda, “that just doesn’t exist in Canada, or the Netherlands orSpain,” said Paula Ettlebrick, executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Campaign.

Sylvia Brasselman, a German scientist living in San Francisco with her partner, Kathy Emery, agrees.

“I think that Americans are generally less tolerant, and I’m talking really about both the left and the right, both liberals and conservatives,” she said. “I find this a very split society, and neither group is very willing to compromise. … That’s different in Germany or Europe.”

Rights enshrined in the more-than-two-centuries-old U.S. Constitution are hard to redefine. Countries with newer constitutions are finding it easier to adapt.

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