What states is gay marriage not legal in 2021
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the planet. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of society, national and regional advocates and contribute tools, resources, and lessons learned to empower movements for marriage equality.
Current State of Marriage Equality
There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the Together Kingdom, the Merged States of America and Uruguay.
These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions.
Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in 2025
Liechtenstein: On May 16, 2024, Liechtenstein's government passed a bill in favor of marriage equality. The law went into effect January 1, 2025.
Same-sex marriage represents a critical milestone in the Queer rights movement, allowing couples of the same sex to legally marry and receive the same marital benefits as heterosexual couples. The journey towards legalization has been varied across the globe, influenced by cultural, religious, and political factors. In some regions, the push for marriage equality has gained significant traction and achieved legal recognition, often after prolonged public and legal battles.
While full marriage equality is celebrated in many places, an alternative approach through civil unions or home partnerships persists in others. These frameworks typically grant a subset of rights that marriage offers, focusing on aspects like property rights or hospital visitation. However, they often decline short in areas such as inheritance, pension rights, and parental responsibilities, spotlighting a gap in the legal recognition of relationships.
The acceptance and implementation of same-sex marriage have brought substantial legal benefits, including inheritance rights, tax reductions, and enhanced health insurance options, which are central for the security and well-being of families. This progr
Homosexuality: The countries where it is illegal to be gay
BBC News
US Vice-President Kamala Harris who is on a tour of three African countries - Ghana, Tanzania and Zambia - has drawn criticism over her support for LGBTQ rights.
In Ghana, in a speech calling for "all people be treated equally" she appeared to criticise a bill before the country's parliament which criminalises representation for gay rights and proposes jail terms for those that identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.
The country's Speaker Alban Bagbin later called her remarks "undemocratic" and urged lawmakers not to be "intimidated by any person".
In Tanzania, a former minister spoke against US help for LGBTQ rights ahead of the visit and in Zambia some disagreement politicians have threatened to hold protests.
Where is homosexuality still outlawed?
There are 64 countries that have laws that criminalise homosexuality, and nearly half of these are in Africa.
Some countries, including several in Africa, have recently moved to decriminalise same-sex unions and improve rights for LGBTQ people.
In December
The tin anniversary – a review of the status of same-sex relationships around the world
Posted: 28/03/2024
On 29 March 2024, it will be the 10-year anniversary of the first same-sex marriage ceremony in England. It is sometimes simple to forget that up until 1967 homosexuality was illegal in this territory. Interestingly, it was never illegal to be lesbian, perhaps one of the few ways women were historically overlooked by law makers which had an inadvertently positive effect!
It may come as a shock to some same-sex couples who move abroad that their partnership might not be recognised, or they may even be treated differently than a heterosexual couple in their modern home country if their relationship or marriage ends.
In England, there are a myriad of financial claims arising from the breakdown of a marriage or civil partnership, and these rights could be lost if you move abroad.
In contrast, cohabiting couples in England still face limited financial protection on separation despite calls for reform. Our International Family Law Report: The Cohabitation Conundrum summarises the legal remedies for cohabiting couples on the breakdown of their relationship in England an
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between partners of the same sex and/or gender identity. For example, a marriage between two men or two women.
In 2003, Massachusetts became the first state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriages with Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, 440 Mass. 309 - Mass: Supreme Judicial Court (2003), paving the way for many other states to consider legalizing same-sex marriage. Over the course of the next decade, several other states legalized same-sex marriage; and in 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, 576 U.S. 644 (2015), legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, including in the remaining 14 states that had not previously allowed same-sex couples to marry. The ruling in this case was based on the court’s interpretation of the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
See also:Equal Protection and Marriage Equality
[Last reviewed in July of 2021 by the Wex Definitions Team]
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