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American Samoa questions gay marriage validity in territory
PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) - American Samoa stands as the only U.S. territory to hold out against the recent Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage.
But as the Pacific island's attorney general reviews the decision, legal observers and gay rights advocates are saying it should go into effect immediately.
"It should be unquestioned," said Rose Cuison Villazor, a professor at University of California, Davis' law school and an expert on territorial law. "The Supreme Court's decision was pretty strong."
American Samoa Attorney General Talauega Eleasalo Ale, however, hasn't been ready to take that step.
Read more: http://www.lex18.com/story/29517045/american-samoa-questions-gay-marriage-validity-in-territory
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Interesting. Have to admit--I did not know of the concept of 'faafafine". Princess Auvaa certainly has feminine features in this photo IMHO.
(AP Photo/Fili Sagapolutele). Princess Auvaa poses for a photo in Pago Pago, American Samoa, Thursday, July 9, 2015. Auvaa is considered a faafafine, males who are raised as females and take on feminine traits. American Samoa's attorney general is revi...
http://www.lex18.com/story/29517045/american-samoa-questions-gay-marriage-validity-in-territory
..........As of Thursday, no one has applied for a same sex marriage license in American Samoa, according to the island's Office of Vital Statistics.
Christian churches with conservative social views dominate in American Samoa, home to about 50,000, and the government's motto is "Samoa, Let God Be First." Yet the territory has a tradition of embracing faafafine - males who are raised as females and take on feminine traits.
There are many faafafine who aren't supportive of gay marriage out of "respect for our Samoan culture and religious beliefs," said well-known faafafine Princess Auvaa................
.....Auvaa said she wants gay marriage to be legal in American Samoa. If it's determined that it is, she said, "I would be the first person to apply for a marriage license - if I had a boyfriend who would agree to marriage."
