Where is gay marriage legal

A Brief History of Civil Rights in the United States This guide offers a history of various movements by citizens in the United States to gain political and social freedom and equality. It highlights resources available through the library and also offers a list of current civil rights organizations. Texas Proposition 8 Obergefell v.

The Timeline: - A same-sex couple in Minnesota applies for a marriage license. They are denied and their case goes to the state Supreme Court. Nebraska voters approve a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage - Nevada votes to approve a state constitutional ban on same-sex marriage - A proposed amendment to the federal Constitution is introduced to the House of Representatives. It would define marriage as only between a man and a woman.

The U. Supreme Court decides Lawrence v. Texas , striking down sodomy law and enshrining a broad constitutional right to sexual privacy.

California passes a domestic partnership law which provides same-sex partners with almost all the rights and responsibilities as spouses in civil marriages. The country's legislators passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage on the world's biggest island. Parliament approved the measure in a vote. In , the country allowed gay and lesbian couples to enter into a civil partnership, and on Jan. Two Austrian women wed in the country's first legal same-sex marriage.

On May 17, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to allow same-sex marriages between gay and lesbian couples. 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 also improved access to artificial insemination.

The vote to apply gender-neutral language to Iceland's definition of marriage passed unanimously in Parliament in June The country's Prime Minister at the time, Social Democrat Johanna Sigurdardottir, was the first openly gay head of state in the world, and soon after the bill passed she married her long-time partner in one of the first same-sex marriages in Iceland. After hours of debate, Argentina's Senate narrowly passed a bill granting same-sex couples the right to marry, making it the first country in Latin America to do so.

The bill also granted the right to adopt children. The Catholic and evangelical Protestant churches vehemently protested the bill. Denmark, the first country in the world to allow same-sex couples the right to register as domestic partners in , began allowing registered same-sex couples to adopt children in 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.

Switzerland : On December 16, , the Swiss Parliament overwhelmingly passed legislation extending marriage to same-sex couples.

In , it issued an advisory opinion to Costa Rica that signatories of the American Convention on Human Rights are obliged to make same-sex marriage legal. In , the ECJ determined that all EU countries were required to recognize the same-sex marriages of EU and non-EU citizens for purposes of immigration, regardless of whether same-sex marriage is legal in those countries.

In recognition of this decision, the Supreme Administrative Court of Bulgaria affirmed in that the country would recognize such same-sex marriages for the purposes of immigration. This list includes a few of the many countries where HRC Global is tracking developments in support of marriage equality in This page is based on a review of legislation and judicial decisions recognizing same-sex marriage.

It does not identify countries that recognize other kinds of relationships between same-sex couples, such as civil unions, registered partnerships or domestic partnerships. We note that processes for obtaining a marriage license for same-sex couples in some countries differ across localities, such as in Mexico where, in light of a constitutional court ruling, some states have enacted marriage equality while, in other states, same-sex couples must seek an amparo from a federal court to obtain a license.