Civil marriage requires a ceremony with an officiant, but it is devoid of religious content. This is the type of marriage that same-sex marriage activists tend to advocate. But common law marriage is another option as well. Common law marriage does not require a marriage certificate or any sort of ceremony but instead provides the benefits of marriage to any couple who has lived together and been jointly financially responsible for a certain number of years (the number varies by jurisdiction).

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Under common law marriage, many same-sex couples should be considered married, but are not, simply because of their gender. Recognition of these relationships as marriages would be a great advance from domestic partnership, though neither quite as beneficial nor quite as controversial as legalizing civil marriages.

Domestic Partnerships outside the United States

The domestic partnership was common in some Canadian provinces until the recent judicial ruling leading to marriage equality in that country. Other countries that offer extensive domestic partnership benefits, or indeed arrangements more beneficial than domestic partnership, include Denmark, France, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, portions of Italy, Norway, portions of Spain, and Sweden. The Netherlands and Belgium, along with Canada, permit same-sex marriage.

Argentina, Australia, Israel, New Zealand, and South Africa require that employers offer some benefits for domestic partners. More limited domestic partnership benefits are available in Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Columbia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Portugal, the remainder of Spain, and the United Kingdom. As the European Union moves to require its member states to enforce its guarantees of equal rights, the number of states that recognize domestic partnerships is likely to grow.

Vermont's Civil Union law confers all the rights, benefits, and responsibilities of marriage on same-sex couples.

Similar to heterosexual weddings, commitment ceremonies of same-sex partnerships are legally recognized in some countries, but generally not in the United States.

Many glbtq people reject a fixed definition of family imposed by society, and instead claim the right to define their own families as they choose.

The U.S. gay rights movement has made significant progress toward achieving equality for glbtq Americans, and in the process has become more inclusive and diverse, but much remains to be done.

Early in the gay rights movement activists challenged organized labor to broaden its struggle against discrimination to include sexual identity; consequently labor unions became some of the first mainstream organizations to call for equal rights.

Lesbian and gay couples have been fighting for the freedom to marry since the dawn of the modern glbtq struggle for equality; despite some success abroad, progress toward same-sex marriage in the United States has been slow.

Switzerland is a very cosmopolitan nation with a vibrant glbtq community, but it has lagged behind much of Europe, particularly the Nordic countries, when it comes to assuring equal rights.

Although work remains to be done, the expansion of protection from workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation stands as one of the significant accomplishments of the American lesbian and gay civil rights movement.

The Empire State Pride Agenda, which lobbies New York governments at both state and local levels for equal rights, is recognized as among the strongest statewide glbtq political organizations in the United States.

Equality California (EQCA) is one of the largest and fastest growing statewide glbtq advocacy and civil rights organizations in the United States.

The largest glbtq political organization in the United States, the Human Rights Campaign has emerged as the leading national organization representing glbtq concerns.

Diane Whipple, the coach of the women's lacrosse team at Saint Mary's College in California, was killed in a dog-mauling; the response of her partner helped establish the right of same-sex partners to equal treatment with heterosexuals.