Same-sex married couples in many of these 30 countries do not share all of the same rights and benefits as different-sex married couples, such as the right to adoption. In some countries, same-sex couples also experience additional restrictions. For example, in Taiwan same-sex marriage is only available to Taiwanese citizens or a citizen of a foreign country that recognizes same-sex marriage who seeks to marry a Taiwanese citizen.
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Processes of Legalization 21 countries have legalized same-sex marriage nationally through legislation. Among these, Australia, Ireland and Switzerland legalized same-sex marriage through legislation only after nation-wide votes. Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in Austria: The Constitutional Court of Austria ruled on December 4, that denial of marriage equality was discriminatory, legalizing same-sex marriage.
Places to Watch for Marriage Equality in This list includes a few of the many countries where HRC Global is tracking developments in support of marriage equality in Demonstrators, LGBTQ rights supporters and protesters filled the streets, awaiting the vote outside the parliament building in Taipei.
Ecuador has become the 5th nation in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage. The country's highest court approved same-sex marriage on June 12, , marking the 50th anniversary of the worldwide gay equality movement. In October , U. Parliament passed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. The law went into action on January, 13, and made same-sex marriage legal in the entire United Kingdom. Costa Rica became the first country in Central America to recognize same-sex marriages after a landmark ruling from the country's Supreme Court went into effect on May 26, The law went into effect in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and the service was performed by a notary wearing a mask.
The Swiss Parliament adopted a bill that recognized same-sex marriage on Dec. However, it was announced in April that critics of the law had gathered enough valid signatures to call for a national referendum, which will take place on Sept. In , the Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage became legal in England and Wales in Same-sex marriage was legalized in the United States in Up Next in Culture.
Then in the country finally legalized same-sex marriage. While the law mandates that the state church — the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark — allow same-sex couples to marry, it does not require clergy to perform the marriages. Since , Brazil has recognized same-sex civil unions and granted those couples many of the same rights as heterosexual married couples, including adoption, inheritance, and pension benefits. In , with nearly half the states in Brazil already recognizing same-sex marriages, the country made them legal nationwide.
After an unsuccessful court challenge by the Conservative Party, France's highest court ruled in favor of a bill allowing same-sex marriage and adoptions by same-sex couples in May The bill was pushed through by President Francois Hollande, who was elected a year earlier, and his Socialist Party. Months of debate ended in the British Parliament when a same-sex marriage bill passed in July and was ratified by the Queen the next day. The law took effect March 29, , when the first same-sex marriages occurred in England.
The law, which applies to England and Wales, does not allow for same-sex marriages within the Church of England. Uruguay became the second Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage when the president signed a bill into law on May 3, , though it didn't take effect until Aug. Civil unions between gay and lesbian couples had been legal since , and adoption rights were granted in On April 17, , New Zealand passed an amendment to the Marriage Act of which updated the definition of marriage to "the union of two people, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity," as well as amendments to other bills such as an adoption rights bill, to ensure that same-sex couples would have the same rights as heterosexual couples.
The changes took effect in August of that year. Amidst protests by the Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church, the Scottish Parliament passed legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in February The legislation, which went into effect in December , left it up to churches to decide whether or not they would conduct the marriages.
The Scottish Episcopal Church decided to perform same-sex marriages in , and the next year the Church of Scotland voted to draft new laws allowing its pastors to conduct the marriages as well. The laws aren't due for final review until On June 18, , in the first major reform of the country's marriage laws since , Luxembourg's Chamber of Deputies approved a bill allowing same-sex couples to both marry and adopt children.
The bill went into effect on Jan. Luxembourg's first openly gay Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, took advantage of the laws he helped champion and married his partner that same year. Greenland, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, was not subject to Denmark's marriage law update in However, the country's parliament, the Inatsisartut, voted unanimously to legalize same-sex marriage on May 26, The bill, which also granted adoption rights, went into effect Oct. While 36 states had already legalized same-sex marriage, a ruling by the United States Supreme Court in finally guaranteed the right at the federal level.
The court determined that limiting marriage to heterosexual couples was in violation of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protections. In a court ruling stating that marriages by people of the same sex don't violate the constitution, Colombia legalized same-sex marriage in April
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