Is Marriage in Canada an Option?
Answered by Lara Schwartz, senior counsel for the Human Rights Campaign. Dec. 20, 2004.
Q: Dear Lara,
My partner and I were planning to get married in Canada soon. But I have heard that a lawsuit in our home state of Maryland may be decided in 2005 or 2006 and is likely to be successful. We'd rather get legally married in Maryland since we are both U.S. citizens.
Would it be better, legally, to wait to marry in Maryland? If the lawsuit fails, would our Canadian marriage be recognized in Maryland?
Thanks in advance.
Sally
A: Dear Sally,
Congratulations to you and your partner on your decision to get married.
The litigation brought by the American Civil Liberties Union challenging Maryland’s denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples may take a long time, and results are never guaranteed.
A principle of law called comity means that generally marriages that are valid where celebrated are valid wherever you are. That is why most heterosexual couples who marry in Canada or any other country can expect to have their marriages honored in any U.S. state. Marriages by same-sex couples continue to be the unfortunate exception in most U.S. states at this point. Unfortunately, if Maryland failed to honor same-sex couple’s right to marriage equality, the state would most likely not honor your Canadian marriage.
However, if Maryland were to stop discriminating against marriages of same-sex couples, then your Canadian marriage would carry the same legal force as a Maryland marriage (as it does now for different-sex couples). There is no legal advantage to marrying in Maryland over Canada.
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