Fridae

The Legislature overrode Gov. Jim Douglas's veto making Vermont the fourth state in the US to allow same-sex couples to marry, and the first to do so without a court order - by just by one vote.

Iowa became the third state in the country to legalise same-sex marriage on Friday while Vermont's bill - although passed - is short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a promised veto by Republican Gov. Jim Douglas.

The Swedish Parliament on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favour of introducing a gender-neutral marriage law which will in fact allow same-sex couples the same marriage rights as heterosexuals.

Japanese nationals wanting to marry their same-sex partners who are citizens of countries where such unions are legal may soon be able to do so.

The Merriam-Webster dictionary, among others, now include same-sex relationships under the definition of marriage.

It may be a case of all or nothing as the California Supreme Court considers eliminating the term "marriage" from state statutes and treat both kinds of couples - same-sex and opposite-sex - equally.

The California Supreme Court has to decide whether to defer to the voters of whom 52 percent support a same-sex marriage ban, or reaffirm their original ruling that preventing gay people from marrying is unconstitutional.

In the first known case of its kind in Asia, a gay couple and a middleman have been sentenced to jail for organising a bogus marriage between a Malaysian man and a Hong Kong woman to gain residency.

Gathered near Tiananmen Square, two lesbian and gay male couples in traditional white wedding gowns and black tuxedoes respectively held mock wedding photo sessions in front of curious and bewildered passersby.

English pop singer and gay rights champion Sir Elton John has blamed the passing of Proposition 8 in California on the use of the term "marriage."