Same sex marriage laws by country
Since the Netherlands became the first country to let same-sex marriage 12 years ago, many countries contain followed suit.
France is the latest and supporters of gay marriage noun it will soon transparent the final legal hurdles in Britain.
But where in the world can same-sex couples already verb married?
Just after midnight on 1 April , four couples - Anne-Marie Thus and Helene Faasen, and three male couples - were married by the mayor of Amsterdam, Employment Cohen, in the first legal gay marriage ceremony in the world.
"We are so ordinary, if you saw us on the street you&#;d just stroll right past us," said Ms Thus of the fuss over the televised City Hall ceremony.
"The only thing that&#;s going to take some getting used to is calling her my spouse."
Denmark was the first country to launch civil partnerships for same-sex couples, in , but it stopped short of allowing church weddings.
Countries including Norway, Sweden and Iceland followed
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Although the issue was being tested in the state courts in the US as early as , the legal changes that would ultimately steer to the world’s first same-sex marriage law took place in Europe. In , Denmark became the first country to recognise same-sex unions through what were called 'registered partnerships'. Other Scandinavian and northern European countries followed suit.
I think there was just a big cultural conversation, and as more and more states started to allow same-sex couples to marry, the main kinds of images that we would see in the news media were gleeful, excited couples who were thrilled to be qualified to get married.
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the world. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of community, national and regional advocates and share tools, resources, and lessons learned to authorize movements for marriage equality.
Current State of Marriage Equality
There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Uruguay.
These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions.
Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in
Liechtenstein: On May 16, , Liechtenstein's gove
Here are the countries where same-sex marriage is officially legal
June 26 marks the fifth anniversary of gay marriage being legalized across the entire United States.
To commemorate this milestone in LGBTQ history, we are taking a stare at countries around the world that have officially legalized same-sex marriage. Nearly 30 out of countries have passed laws allowing gay marriage, according to the Pew Research Center.
Below is a timeline for the countries where same-sex marriage is officially legal. The year marks when the law was first enacted in that country.
The Netherlands
The country became the first in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. The following year, four couples married in the world’s first same-sex wedding in [Associated Press]
Belgium
Three years after the new law was enacted, the country’s parliament granted same-sex couples the right to adopt in [Pew Research Center]
Canada
The nation's traditional definition of civil marriage was changed to include the union between same-sex couples. [Pew Analyze Center]
Spain
The new l