While the debate about same-sex marriage laws continues on in the U.S., the U.K. has legalized gay marriage. Same-sex unions in England and Wales will be available as early as next year.
The bill to legalize gay marriage in the U.K. was passed by both houses of Parliament and granted "Royal Assent," which is more or less the equivalent of the president signing a bill into law.
The queen's decision to give her assent (when she has the option to abstain or withhold) is much less dramatic than President Barack Obama's rather sudden shift on the issue last May when he became the first sitting president to publicly support same-sex marriage.
There are many similarities between the American legal system and the British legal system, but one striking difference is that the U.K., unlike the U.S., has a state-sponsored religion.
It will be interesting to see how the Church of England adapts to the new rules, as this is a point of contention between religious and gay rights groups in the U.S. — does the fact that same-sex marriage is legal in certain U.S. states mean that religious institutions must perform marriages that they do not believe are valid?
The answer, of course, is no. Even the U.S. Supreme Court's decision striking down Section 3 of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibited recognizing a marriage between two individuals of the same sex as legitimate for all federal purposes, does not and will not threaten the rights of religious institutions as some fear it might.
Individual states are beginning to legalize same-sex marriages, while only five or six years ago states were falling all over themselves to ban them through either amendments to the state constitutions or state law.
In 2012, voters in Maine, Maryland and Washington decided to allow gay marriage, while a proposed ban in Minnesota failed to pass — the first time that same-sex marriage was put to a majority vote and won.
For the most part, public opinion polls in recent years have shown levels of support and opposition for same-sex marriage have been more or less in equilibrium.
After the Supreme Court handed down its decision that invalidated part of the Defense of Marriage Act in late June, a USA Today poll indicated a near or all-time high level of support for gay marriage, with 55 percent in favor and 40 percent in opposition.
Whatever your views on same-sex marriage, it's clear that fewer and fewer people in the U.S. and in other parts of the world are willing to let their own views and beliefs dictate the way other people live their lives.
Tell Savannah your thoughts on gay marriage at skthoma4@asu.edu or follow her on Twitter @SavannahKThomas
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