Conservative Support for the Freedom to Marry Worldwide
View this resource as a PDF
The freedom to marry now spans all 7 continents, with nearly 1.3 billion (≈16% of the global population) living in a country where same-sex couples can marry. Each of the 31 countries offers a mountain of evidence, experience, and expertise showing that families are helped and no one is harmed when marriage discrimination ends.
In many countries, conservative politicians have been instrumental in securing the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian families.
For these conservative leaders, extending marriage to same-sex couples is about protecting individual freedom and liberty, limiting government intrusion, and strengthening families through marriage.
Australia
“In any one of those nations [that have secured marriage for all] has the sky fallen in, has life as we know it ground to a halt, has traditional marriage been undermined and the answer is plainly no.”
– Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
In 2017, 62% of Australian voters approved the freedom to marry in a voluntary postal survey – after which, Malcolm Turnbull, the center-right Prime Minister announced his support and agreed to allow a free vote in Parliament, where marriage legislation passed nearly unanimously in the House of Representatives.
Chile
“Today I think that we must deepen the freedom to love and make family with the one we love. I think the time has come for equal marriage in our country.”
—Former Chilean President Sebastian Piñera
In July 2021, conservative President Sebastian Piñera – once a vocal opponent of the freedom to marry – announced his support for marriage equality, committing to making the marriage bill that had been languishing for many years in Congress a legislative priority.
Piñera’s support was critical to pushing the bill across the finish line, and in December 2021, he signed the bill into law that made Chile the 31st country worldwide and 8th in Latin America to win the freedom to marry - declaring, “All couples who so wish, regardless of their sexual orientation, will be able to live, love, marry and form a family with all the dignity and legal protection they need and deserve.”
Chile’s marriage victory was backed by a broad coalition of political parties, including the center-right Evopoli Party and key lawmakers like former conservative Senator Lily Perez, who was vocal in sharing her journey to supporting marriage for all.
Germany
In Germany, 75 members of Angela Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union of Germany party voted to pass marriage legislation that became law in 2017. Polls showed that a majority of conservative voters in Germany supported the freedom to marry:
“Even among voters of Chancellor Angela Merkel's governing Christian Democrats (CDU) almost two-thirds were in favour.”
Japan
Conservatives spoke out for the freedom to marry in Japan in the wake of a 2020 federal court decision marking the country’s first-ever ruling affirming marriage for all.
Key members of the Liberal Democratic Party – the conservative ruling party – have pledged their support for marriage and are part of a growing coalition working to pass legislation in the National Diet. Polls show that 57% of conservative LDP voters support the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.
Taro Kono, who ran and almost won the Prime Minister’s race in 2021 and now serves as the Director of the Liberal Democratic Party Public Affairs Department, said during his campaign that he agrees same-sex couples should be able to marry in Japan. He encouraged members of all parties to discuss and consider legislation pending in the Diet.
“I would like to accelerate discussions so that the diversity required by the people in each era (LGBTs, the way families should be in this era, etc.) is first understood within the LDP."
– Takeo Kawamura, former Chief Cabinet Secretary and current LDP House of Representatives member – and backer of freedom to marry legislation:
"I think we should create a society where everyone can live a personal life without being restricted in their way of life.”
– Masanobu Ogura, LDP House of Representatives member – and backer of freedom to marry legislation:
New Zealand
In 2012, New Zealand’s conservative Prime Minister John Key announced his support for the freedom to marry:
"My view has been that if two gay people want to get married, then I can't see why it would undermine my marriage to [his wife] Bronagh. I just don't see it, how logic applies."
In 2013, Key signed marriage legislation into law after it passed with ⅔ support in Parliament, declaring that marriage for same-sex couples “is part of equality in modern day New Zealand.”
"My view has been that if two gay people want to get married, then I can't see why it would undermine my marriage to [his wife] Bronagh. I just don't see it, how logic applies."
– New Zealand Prime Minister John Key
Taiwan
In Taiwan, members of the conservative Kuomintang (KMT) voted in favor of the 2019 legislation that made Taiwan the first jurisdiction in Asia to win the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.
Since Taiwan’s victory, leaders on both sides of the political aisle have championed marriage equality as a symbol of Taiwan’s commitment to democracy – while the 60% of the Taiwanese public are now shown to support marriage for same-sex couples.
Yu-Jen Hsum, KMT legislator proposed a bill to amend the Civil Code in 2016 to include gay couples. After casting his yes vote for the Same-Sex Marraige Act in 2019, Hsu stated, “I always believe that my vote for marriage equality will not cause KMT any harm.”
Yu-Lan Yeh, KMT legislator: “I don’t consider gay marriage as a choice of values because being gay is not a choice and therefore gay marriage is a civil right they deserve.”
Yen-Hsiu Lee, KMT legislator: “We should not make this issue into a political fight between two parties. KMT should voice our support for diversity to back up those gay KMT supporters.”
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom secured the freedom to marry in 2014, under the leadership of former Prime Minister David Cameron of the Conservative Party. While the previous government had passed a civil partnership law, PM Cameron underscored the importance of passing marriage – and nothing less – as a “matter of human rights.”
PM Cameron says his support for marriage was a clear extension of his conservative values: “I don’t support gay marriage despite being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a Conservative.’’
127 members of the Conservative Party voted to support marriage legislation in the House of Commons. A 2019 poll shows that 62% of Conservative Party voters now support the freedom to marry.
“I don’t support gay marriage despite being a Conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a Conservative.’’
– United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron
United States
In the battle for the freedom to marry in the United States, conservative politicians and judges played an important part in winning marriage at the state level.
The Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry group made the conservative case for marriage in the media – while more than 300 conservative and Republican leaders signed on to a brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of the freedom to marry in the landmark case that ushered in marriage equality nationwide.
A 2021 Gallup Poll shows that 55% of Republican voters now support marriage for same-sex couples.
“With respect to the question of relationships, my general view is freedom means freedom for everyone. People ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to.”
– Dick Cheney, former US Vice President
“The overriding message of love and compassion that I take from the Bible, and certainly the Golden Rule, and the fact that I believe we are all created by our maker, that has all influenced me in terms of my change on this issue. It allowed me to think of this issue from a new perspective, and that’s of a Dad who loves his son a lot and wants him to have the same opportunities that his brother and sister would have — to have a relationship like Jane and I have had for over 26 years.”
– Rob Portman, Republican U.S. Senator announcing his support for the freedom to marry after discussing the issue with his son, who is gay.
"There are a lot of people who have trouble coming to terms with that because they see marriage as traditionally between a man and a woman. But I also know that, you know, when couples are committed to each other and love each other, that they ought to have, I think, the same sort of rights that everyone has."
– Laura Bush, former US First Lady