What the Supreme Court Has Said About Marriage

The United State Supreme Court described four Attributes of marriage in a 1987 case that struck down a state's attempt to restrict prisoner marriage. Turner v. Safle, 482 U.S. 78, 94 (1987). It describes marriage as:

1. An expression of emotional support and public commitment.
2. For some, an act with spiritual significance, and for some the exercise of a religious faith
3. A relationship with the expectation that for most the marriage will be consummated; and
4. A relationship that can receive tangible benefits including government benefits and property rights.
   
   Turner v. Safle, 482 U.S. 78, 94 (1987).
   
   

Faith Communities Performing Religious Marriage for Same Sex Couples

Individual congregations of American Baptists, Buddhists,
Episcopalians, Methodists, Presbyterians, Unitarian Universalists,
United Church of Christ, Reform Jews and The Society of Friends
have performed religious marriages for lesbian and gay couples.