by Racheline Maltese
Member since:
April 12, 2006

Historical Precedent for Gay Civil Unions

August 26, 2007 12:07 PM UTC (Updated: August 26, 2007 12:08 PM UTC)
views: 0 | comments: 16

The September issue of the Journal of Modern History features an article positing gay civil unions may have existed six centuries ago in France.  The piece reviews a range of historical evidence such as documents and gravesites to conclude that "affrèrement," a contract originally created to keep lands within a single family when there where multiple sons, was also used, openly, as a form of gay civil union.  Similar contractual statueses existed throughout the Mediterranean at that time.

The anti gay marriage crowd, will, I'm sure, continue to call me a sinner (among other, less polite things, no doubt), but if they have any sense it's now time to stop using history to justify their hostility and fear.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070823110231.htm 

Comments: 16

Cori Anders Aug 26, 2007, 12:28pm UTC
Rock on!
Kimberly Ripley Aug 26, 2007, 12:37pm UTC
Thanks for the interesting info!
Sarah G. Aug 26, 2007, 12:40pm UTC
I wish we as a country would finally move on from the old Victorian values and our Puritanical roots regarding gays, women, sex, nudity, and so many other things.
Peter Joseph Swanson Aug 26, 2007, 1:05pm UTC
Rock on from me, too!
Good research. I agree that we should move on. Maybe someday that will happen if we work at it continuously!
Rick S. Aug 26, 2007, 2:35pm UTC
Interesting bit of history.
Peter Wimsey Aug 26, 2007, 2:50pm UTC
John Boswell, the late Yale historian, researched this and other forms of union back in 1995.

Boswell's book, "Same Sex Unions in Pre-Modern Europe", created a great deal of controversy.

http://www.amazon.com/Same-Sex-Unions-Premodern-Europe-Boswell/dp/0679751645/ref=sr_1_4/102-9384418-8422523?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1188154074&sr=1-4
True American Aug 26, 2007, 2:51pm UTC
Learn a lot by history.
Stephanie B. Aug 26, 2007, 3:21pm UTC
No offense, I think history is a stupid reason not to allow all humans the dignity and respect of choosing their own lifetime companions. People used to be slaves, once, too. That doesn't make it right.

Honestly, the excuses people come up with to decide what's "good" for other people. Aren't there enough problems in the world that we can move beyond worrying about the sexual preferences of consenting adults? Murder, war, starvation, disease, health care, unemployment, child abuse... Pick one.

If God's upset about it, He can address it after they're dead. We were given a direction: "Judge not lest ye be judged." That's seems like pretty darn good advice to me. Tell you the truth, I think God's got bigger fish to fry himself than worrying about people who find happiness with each other but do no one else any harm.

Can we grow up, please?
Col. George W. Aug 26, 2007, 5:00pm UTC
Old information but interesting - what do you expect they are French? I don't care if two women or two men want to live their lives that way. None of my business. Certianly none of the governments business. One man One woman laws are just too close to mixing church and state to suit me.
Todd .. Aug 26, 2007, 5:39pm UTC
I agree that we as a society should just move on and accept that same sex couples deserve to be happy and left alone. Thanks for the history lesson :-)
Paul M. Aug 26, 2007, 7:13pm UTC
The opposition cites not so much HISTORY as TRADITION. The sanctimony of the institution and all that. Of course if people never changed traditions we'd still be sacrificing bulls at some altar. ;-)
Jules who is loving life again Aug 28, 2007, 2:38am UTC
great article great great new enjoyed it 10 friend
Peter C. Frank Nov 21, 2007, 7:10am UTC
I'm glad that someone brought up Boswell's book. I remember reading it when it came out, and that he was a noted Yale scholar but couldn't remember his name. Yes, this is old news. Gay unions have existed throughout history, and marriage originally was strictly a state function designed for the nobility to transfer ownership of lands amongst each other. Of course, the anti-marriage equality advocates, including most of my family, will have my head for repeating this long forgotten information but it's high time that the lies about the basis of marriage be exposed. Marriage, originally, was strictly a state matter; religion had no part in it and only recently--within the past few centuries, which is recent in terms of civilization--has it had anything to do with marriage and/or co-opted it as a function thereof.

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