Global Landscape of the Freedom to Marry

On June 18, 2024, Thailand's Senate voted 130-4 to pass the freedom to marry – following a May vote in the House, where 390 members voted in favor, and only 10 opposed. Thailand is now become the third country in Asia – and the first in SE Asia – to secure the freedom to marry for same-sex couples.

On May 16, 2024, Liechtenstein's parliament voted unanimously to pass legislation extending the freedom to marry to same-sex couples.

On February 15, 2024, the Greek Parliament voted 176-76 to pass legislation extending marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples. The legislation was championed by conservative Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, with widespread support across the political spectrum.

A June 2023 Supreme Court ruling ordered the Nepali government to create a temporary marriage registration for gay and transgender couples – marking the third pro-freedom to marry ruling from the country's highest court since 2008. While numerous couples have since registered their marriages, work continues to fully implement the ruling and update Nepal's civil code to end marriage discrimination.

On June 20, 2023, the Estonian Riigikogu voted to update the Family Law Act to extend the freedom to marry to same-sex couples – with 55 members voting in favor. When the law took effect on January 1, 2024, Estonia became the first former Soviet country and first nation in the Baltics to secure marriage for same-sex couples.

On September 25th, Cuban voters overwhelmingly approved the freedom to marry by approving reforms in a new Family Code backed by the government. This marks the first freedom to marry victory in a Communist country, and the first marriage win in an independent island in the Caribbean.

On July 21, 2022, Andorra’s General Council voted unanimously to extend the freedom to marry to same-sex couples, upgrading the country’s civil union law passed in 2014, and becoming the 19th European country to end marriage discrimination.

On July 8, 2022, Slovenia's Constitutional Court ruled that the country's ban on marriage for same-sex couples is unconstitutional – while also affirming the right of same-sex couples to adopt. On October 18th, 2022, the Slovenian Parliament voted 48-29-1 to implement the Court's ruling and extend marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples. Slovenia's victory marks the first post-Communist country to end marriage discrimination.

On December 9, 2021, President Sebastián Piñera signed into law legislation extending civil marriage to same-sex couples in Chile, following passage in both chambers of the National Congress with overwhelming support. The bill is scheduled to go into effect 90 days after publication in the government's official bulletin, at which point same-sex couples will be able to apply for a marriage license like any other couple.

On December 16, 2020, the Swiss Parliament voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation extending marriage to same-sex couples. The implementation of the law was held up, pending an effort from anti-LGBT organizations to put the law to a public vote in late 2021. On September 26, 2021, a super-majority (64%) of the Swiss people voted in favor of the freedom to marry -- with majority support in all of Switzerland's cantons, both German- and French speaking areas, and rural as well as urban. The law will take full effect in 2022, making Switzerland the 30th country worldwide where same-sex couples can share in the freedom to marry.

On August 8, 2018, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court struck down Costa Rica's marriage ban, mandating that the ruling must take effect by May 26, 2020 – 18 months after the ruling was issued. On May 26th, 2020, the first same-sex couples applied for a civil marriage license in Costa Rica.

On June 13, 2019, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador, the country's highest court, ruled that Ecuador's current marriage legislation restricting marriage to different-sex couples was discriminatory and unconstitutional, and that same-sex couples should be allowed equal rights. The ruling opened the door to same-sex couples marrying in Ecuador on July 9, 2019.

Members of the Legislative Yuan voted on May 17, 2019 to allow same-sex couples to share in the freedom to marry - implementing a 2017 Constitutional Court ruling that declared the exlusion of same-sex couples from marriage unconstitutional. Same-sex couples began marrying on May 24, 2019 - marking the first freedom to marry win in Asia.

The Constitutional Court affirmed the equal freedom to marry of same-sex couples on Dec. 5, 2017, and also extended the nation's same-sex registered-partnership law to different-sex couples. The ruling took effect effect Jan. 1, 2019.

Australia became the 25th freedom to marry country on December 9, 2017 when center-right Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull allowed a free vote in Parliament. Marriage legislation passed with a nearly unanimous vote in the House of Representatives on December 7, 2017 and received royal assent from Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove on December 8, 2017. Same-sex couples may marry in Australia as of January 9, 2018. The marriage vote in parliament followed a voluntary postal survey in which 80% of all registered Australian voters responded, and 62% voting in favor of the freedom to marry.

Germany became the 24th freedom to marry country on October 1, 2017. Center-right Chancellor Angela Merkel, despite her personal objections, allowed a vote in the Bundestag on June 30, 2017 and the Bundesrat on July 7, 2017. The marriage bill was signed into law on July 20, 2017 by President Steinmeier.

On September 1, 2017, Malta became the 23rd freedom to marry country. Parliament in the deeply Catholic country passed marriage legislation, nearly unanimously, on July 12, 2017; it was signed into law by President Coleiro Preca on August 1, 2017.

Colombia’s highest court – the constitutional court – ruled on April 7, 2016 that same-sex couples have the right to marry. The 6-3 ruling came nearly nine months after the constitutional court held a hearing on whether to extend nuptials to same-sex couples.

On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of the freedom to marry, allowing same-sex couples to marry nationwide. The decision came after 37 states and the District of Columbia passed their own freedom to marry laws. The fight for marriage in the United States dates to the 1970s, with the first state - Massachusetts - embracing the freedom to marry on May 17, 2004. In June 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, a law passed by President Bill Clinton in 1996 to prohibit the federal government from respecting legal marriages between same-sex couples.

Same-sex couples are able to marry in all of Mexico's 31 states after receiving an injunction against the civil registry from a judge, following a June 3, 2015 ruling from Mexico's Supreme Court requiring that judges grant these injunctions. Several states have passed laws allowing couples to marry without the injunction, and advocates continue to work on a legal strategy to ensure that all couples in every Mexican state will be free to marry just as different-sex couples marry.

On May 22, 2015, Ireland became the first country in the world to approve the freedom to marry by popular referendum. The landslide vote in favor of marriage for same-sex couples (62.07% voted "yes") came after months of campaigning from many groups in Ireland under the campaign Yes Equality. With the emotional, powerful vote, Ireland became the 10th country with dominant Catholic populations to approve the freedom to marry.

On November 28, 2014, the Finnish Parliament approved an amendment legalizing marriage between same-sex couples. The vote was passed with 105 members of parliament supporting it and 92 opposing. This amendment gave the same adoption rights to same-sex couples as heterosexual couples, as well. After this vote, Finland became the 12th European state to legalize marriage between same-sex couples.

On June 18, 2014, the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies approved a bill that will extend the freedom to marry to same-sex couples in Luxembourg by an overwhelming vote of 56 to 4. A final vote, largely seen as a formality, will be held shortly, and the bill takes place six months after the final vote - which could be as soon as January 2015.

On July 17, 2013, the Queen of England granted royal assent to a bill extending the freedom to marry to same-sex couples in England. The final approval came after the British House of Commons and House of Lords voted overwhelmingly in favor of the legislation multiple times. Same-sex couples in England and Wales were able to begin marrying on March 29, 2014. In the fall of 2013, on November 20, a marriage bill also passed Stage 1 of the process in Scotland, with a final debate and vote approving the bill for good on February 4, 2014. The first marriages in Scotland will take place on December 31, 2014.

On April 17, the Parliament in New Zealand took a final vote to approve a bill to extend the freedom to marry to same-sex couples. The Parliament previously cleared the bill on August 29, 2012 and March 12, 2013. Prime Minister John Key vocally supported the freedom to marry throughout the national conversation on why marriage matters. The first weddings between same-sex couples took place on August 19.

On April 10, the lower House of the Uruguayan legislature approved a bill to extend the freedom to marry to same-sex couples, marking the final vote in the process of ending the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage across the country. President José Mujica signed the bill on May 3, and Uruugay became the third country in Latin America to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage nationwide when the law took effect on August 5.

On April 23, 2013, the National Assembly in France took a final vote to approve the freedom to marry. The following month, on May 18, French President François Hollande signed the bill into law. The bill passed with overwhelming support in both houses - by a 331-225 final vote in the Assembly and 179-157 final vote in the Senate. The first wedding occurred in Monpellier, between Vincent Autin and Bruno Boileau.

On May 14, 2013, the National Council of Justice in Brazil ruled that government offices that issue marriage licenses have no standing to reject same-sex couples from marriage. Since 2011, federal marriage laws in Brazil have been somewhat confusing: On May 5, 2011, the Supreme Federal Court voted to allow same-sex couples nationwide many of the legal rights as married couples (through a mechanism called "stable union"), and since June 2011, same-sex couples joined together in "stable union" may petition judges to convert their union into a marriage. The two-step process to being married can be performed across Brazil, and in recent months, many jurisdictions have ordered a final end to the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage. Before the May 2013 ruling, 14 of Brazil's 27 jurisdictions had passed the freedom to marry.

On June 7, 1989, Denmark passed a first-of-its-kind law allowing same-sex couples to receive the same legal and fiscal rights provided by marriage through registered partnerships (with the exception of laws making explicit references to the sexes of married couples and regulations of international treaties). On January 18, 2012, the government of Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt introduced a gender-neutral marriage bill that would legalize marriage between same-sex couples through civil registry or the Church of Denmark. The bill passed by a vote of 85-24 on June 7, 2012 and took effect on June 15, 2012.

On July 15, 2010 Argentina became the first country in Latin America to uphold the freedom to marry for gay and lesbian couples. The legislation was approved by a 33 to 27 vote, with 3 abstentions by the Argentine National Congress. It gives same-sex couples the same rights and protections as different-sex couples, including the ability to adopt. The law was backed by the government of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who signed the measure into law on July 21, 2010.