Same-sex marriage remains criminalised in 72 countries.
Out of the 25 countries that have legalised same-sex marriage, 15 countries have done it in the last five years.
The latest to join the league is Australia where the upper house Senate approved the bill for same-sex marriage and is awaiting the assent of the lower house.
Three countries, Malta, Germany and Finland, legalised same-sex marriage in 2017 with hopes being pinned on Australia to become the third country to do so this year.
Here is the list of 25 countries where gay marriage is legal
2017
Malta: The Maltese parliament voted unanimously in favour of same-sex marriage, 66-1, in July 2017. Malta is a predominantly Roman Catholic country and the bill to legalise gay marriage was fiercely opposed by the Catholic church. Instead of “husband” and “wife”, Malta Parliament amended their Marriage Act and replaced it with “spouse”.
Germany: Despite standing against legalising gay marriage, Chancellor Angela Merkel gave freedom to the members of the Parliament to vote from their conscience, days before the voting. By 393-226 votes, the Parliament voted in favour of the bill and became the 15th nation to legalise same-sex marriage.
Finland: Before the approval of the Parliament, a public petition was circulated and signed by 167,000 people in favour of same-sex marriage. The Parliament approved the bill in 2014 and in 2015, the President signed it into a law. Same-sex marriage became legal in March 2017
2016
Colombia: In April, the country’s constitutional court ruled in favour of legal same-sex marriage by 6-3 votes.
2015
Ireland: More than half of the members of Parliament voted in favour of same-sex marriage and supported the ‘yes’ campaign.
United States: America follows a complex federal and state governmental legal system. A few states in the country had already legalised same-sex unions by 2015 when the US Supreme Court ruled to include same-sex marriages in the Constitution.
Greenland: Greenland is an autonomous constituent body of Denmark and so the laws of Denmark are not applicable to the territory. While Denmark adopted the same-sex marriage law in 2012, Greenland legalised the same after three years
2014
Scotland: The Scottish Parliament voted in majority for legalisation of same-sex marriage and added a clause giving freedom to churches who do not wish to conduct gay marriages.
Luxembourg: Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, a gay himself, extended full support to the same-sex marriage bill.
2013
England and Wales: Queen Elizabeth II approved the passage of the same-sex marriage bill with a clause — such would not take place within the Church of England.
Brazil: Brazil’s National Council of Justice ruled that marriage licenses should be provided to same-sex couples. Before 2013, half of Brazil had already legalised gay marriage.
France: French President Francois Hollande passed the law along with their right to adopt. The opposition has been in continuous retaliation of the right to adopt children by the gays and the lesbians.
New Zealand: In 2005, New Zealand allowed civil unions and in 2013 same-sex marriage was legalised along with the right to adopt children. Former Prime Minister John Key provided full support to the bill.
Uruguay: Former President José Mujica signed the bill into law making Uruguay the second Latin American country to legalise same-sex marriage
2012
Denmark: Among all the countries, Denmark was the first to acknowledge same-sex couples and allowed them to live as domestic partners in 1989. The bill became a law when Queen Margrethe II gave her royal assent to the bill
2010
Argentina: The first Latin American country to legalise gay marriage was Argentina and former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchne signed the bill into law. Gay couples in Argentina have same rights as heterosexual couples.
Portugal: The law in favour of same-sex marriage was passed through the Constitutional court and not the government. Former president Anibal Cavaco Silva opposed the ruling and requested a review. But in 2010 the court declared the law to be valid and upheld its decision.
Iceland: When in 2010 Iceland passed the law in favour of gay marriage, then prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, wed her longtime partner, Jonina Leosdottir, becoming one of the first gay couple to marry under the statute
2009
Sweden: Sweden legalised gay marriage and the church governing body allowed its clergy to officiate at same-sex marriage ceremonies
2008
Norway: The 2008 law replaced the 1993 law which allowed civil unions. In 2008 Norway officially legalised same-sex marriage
2006
South Africa: The law was passed in favour of gay marriages and religious institutions and civil officers were given freedom to opt out in conducting ceremonies
2005
Spain: In 2005, Spain amended their marriage laws, which now read thus: “Marriage will have the same requirements and results when the two people entering into the contract are of the same sex or of different sexes.”
Canada: The fight for gay marriage started in 2003 when several court cases were filed and after two years of fighting in court, those in favour of same-sex marriage were victorious and a legislation was passed by the Canadian parliament
2003
Belgium: In 1998, Belgium recognised same-sex union through domestic partnership. The dominant Christian Democratic Party was out of power, when the legislation was passed and so the law hardly created any controversy
2000
Netherlands: Netherlands remains a benchmark for all the countries legalising same-sex marriage. The Dutch Parliament was the first in the world to legalise gay marriage.
No comments:
Post a Comment