For more than 40 years the Historic Documents series has made primary source research easy by presenting full primary documents and excerpts from documents on the important events of each year for the United States and the world. Each volume includes approximately 70 events with well over 100 documents from the previous year, from official or other influential reports and surveys, to speeches from leaders and opinion makers, to court cases, legislation, testimony, and much more.

Historic Documents is renowned for the well-written and informative background, history, and context it provides for each document. Each volume begins with an insightful essay that sets the year's events in context, and each document or group of documents is preceded by a comprehensive introduction that provides background information on the event. Full-source citations are provided. Readers have easy access to material through a detailed, thematic table of contents and a cumulative five-year index that directs them to related material in earlier volumes.

New Zealand, England, and Wales Approve Same-Sex Marriage: April 17 and July 18, 2013

New Zealand, England, and Wales Approve Same-Sex Marriage: April 17 and July 18, 2013

New Zealand, England, and Wales approve same-sex marriage: April 17 and July 18, 2013

A handful of countries passed new laws in 2013 allowing same-sex couples to marry. In New Zealand, same-sex marriage legislation faced resistance from religious and conservative groups but was backed by the prime minister. France, a typically liberal nation when it comes to social policy, almost failed to pass its law as protests rocked its major cities. In contrast, its more conservative neighbors to the north, England and Wales, passed a law that was approved without much opposition. Other countries passing same-sex marriage laws in 2013 included Brazil and Uruguay. These six countries joined other nations with similar ...

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