Despite recent setbacks, same-sex marriage is arriving

"There's something deeply wrong with putting the rights of a minority up to a majority vote. If this were being done to almost any other minority, people would see how un-American this is." -- Gay-rights lawyer Evan Wolfson

Same-sex marriage is coming, and for many it is already a reality.

Marriage, as defined by civil law, is currently available to same-sex couples in 6 countries. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to allow it. Since then, same-sex marriages have become legal in Belgium, Canada, Norway, South Africa and Spain, along with two states in the United States: Massachusetts and Connecticut.

From May 2008, California allowed for same sex marriages, though Proposition 8 recently overturned that right.

In 2005, Spain became the first country in the world to recognize same-sex marriage (including adoption rights) on equal terms and under the same law. Today, Canada, Spain and Norway are the only countries where the legal status of same-sex marriage is exactly the same as that of traditional marriage, though South Africa is expected to fully synchronize its marriage laws. Other countries all have requirements or restrictions that apply to same-sex marriage that do not apply to opposite-sex marriage.

It's a painfully slow process to gain legal recognition, but it is happening.