INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS:
GAY MARRIAGE INTERNATIONALLY:
The subject of gay marriage has been a matter of recent legal dispute, both here in Canada and down in the USA. Despite setbacks it seems inevitable that gays are likely to win the legal right to marry in all but the most backward of jurisdictions. It will be faster in some cases and slower in others. Molly recently came across the following extremely informative article on the Care2 site. It documents the present state of affairs internationally and also has links to the situation in US states and the timeline of developments in this matter. To say the least it contains a wealth of information, as do many of the entries on the Care 2 site. Highly recommended. GMGMGMGMGMGMGMWhich Countries Have Legalized Gay Marriage?:
posted by:
Steve Williams
Here is a resource page that contains information on which countries allow same-sex couples to get married. It will be updated to reflect future changes in marriage laws as they happen. For the sake of clarity, this page will only include those countries where same-sex marriage has been recognized. It will not include civil unions and other forms of legal recognition, as they will be part of a future list.
Gay Marriage in the Netherlands
Gay Marriage in Belgium
Gay Marriage in Spain
Despite heavy opposition from the Roman Catholic Church, the Spanish parliament passed same-sex marriage legislation on
June 30, 2005. The legislation, which made Spain the third country to recognize gay marriage, also granted adoption rights for same-sex couples, however some disparities between homosexual and heterosexual marriages remained. To help remedy this, the law on assisted reproduction was amended in 2006, allowing co-parenting recognition for married lesbian partners who had used
IVF treatment to have a child. For more information on gay marriage in Spain,
please click here.
Gay Marriage in Canada
Although the Netherlands was the first country to legally recognize gay marriage, a joint wedding by two Canadian same-sex couples actually preceded the recognition of same-sex marriage in the Netherlands, and seemed to precipitate, at least in part, full recognition of gay marriage throughout Canada some years later. Here is a little more detail about that case:
The couples involved were
Kevin Bourassa and Joe Varnell and
Anne and Elaine Vautour. The two couples had a joint marriage ceremony officiated by Rev. Brent
Hawkes at the Metropolitan Community Church of Toronto on January 14, 2001. Both couples were given a
government record-of-marriage following their unions. However, Ontario officials refused to acknowledge the legality of the same-sex marriages that had been carried out that day.
After a lengthy legal battle,
on July 12, 2002, a lower court ruled that the marriages were legal. This decision was affirmed in the Court of Appeal for Ontario on
June 10, 2003. The Court of Appeal deemed that the exclusion of same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
This decision was not appealed by Ontario's government, and as such the couples' unions were formally recognized as having been carried out on the aforementioned date of January 14, 2001, making it, in retrospect, a quiet landmark for same-sex marriage in Canada. The date of registration the two couples eventually received was June 11, 2003.
Similar legal victories were had in
British Columbia and
Quebec, and eventually in nine of Canada's provinces, until the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2004 in
Re Same-Sex Marriage that same-sex marriage had constitutional validity.
The Court compelled the Canadian federal government to enact legislation to recognize gay marriage. The
Canadian legislature eventually then codified the revised definition of civil marriage in the
Civil Marriage Act. The legislation received Royal Assent (and therein became law) on July 20, 2005. To find out more about the history of gay marriage in Canada,
please click here.
Gay Marriage in South Africa
Almost one year after
South Africa's highest court ruled that the country's existing definition of marriage violated its constitution's guarantee of equal rights, gay marriages in South Africa became legal on November 30, 2006, following the South African parliament having
passed a bill for same-sex marriage earlier in the month.
This made South Africa the first country in Africa to officially grant same-sex marriage, and the fifth country in the world. Same-sex adoption rights had already been affirmed in 2002. To see a brief history of the recognition of gay partnerships and how this culminated in gay marriage in South Africa,
please click here.
Gay Marriage in Norway
Gay Marriage in Sweden
Following a gender-neutral marriage bill being passed by the Swedish legislature in
April, 2009, Sweden became the seventh country to recognize gay marriage on May 1, 2009. Sweden had previously passed a law to allow same-sex couples to adopt in
June, 2002.
In 2007 the Church had approved the recognition of gay partnerships within the congregation, but without the term "marriage" being attached. To find out more about gay marriage in Sweden,
please click here.
*Pending* - Gay Marriage in Portugal
On January 8, 2010, Portugal's parliament
voted to approve gay marriage. The bill was passed by 125 votes to 99. A provision to allow adoption by same-sex partners
was struck down. At the time of writing this, the bill must now be reviewed in committee before coming back to parliament for a final vote. However, the bill is expected to pass, and President Anibal
Cavaco Silva is not expected to veto the legislation, meaning that gay marriage in Portugal could be a reality as soon as April, 2010.
*Pending* - Gay Marriage in Nepal
