Same-Sex Marriage: Not a Universal Right (According to European Courts)

The Associated Press (via Salon) reports that the European Court of Human Rights "has ruled that countries are not obliged to allow gay marriage, rejecting a bid by an Austrian couple to force the state to let them wed."

The unanimous decision means that the right to marry (under Europe's human rights convention) does not extend to same-sex couples; individual countries will decide their own fates regarding the legality of same-sex marriage.

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You can read the whole decision here.

Photo of the ECHR (cc) by Flickr user phtgrphy