Source: Pew Research Center
According to Pew Research Center, so far 30 countries and territories have enacted national laws to allow gays and lesbians to marry, most of which are in Europe. Here are 7 countries that allowed the same in the recent past.
Greece became the first Christian Orthodox-majority country to legalise same-sex marriage on 15 Feb 2024. The same-sex couples will now be allowed to adopt children in Greece.
In May 2020, Costa Rica became the first Central American country to legalize same-sex marriage. The country’s highest court in 2018 ruled that the nation’s law banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional.
On June 12, Ecuador’s Constitutional Court ruled that that same-sex couples have a right to marry. It became the fifth country in Latin America to allow gays and lesbians to wed.
On May 17, 2019, Taiwan’s legislature passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage and making the island nation the first country in Asia to permit gays and lesbians to wed.
On January 1, 2019, Austria joined the vast majority of Western European countries in legalizing same-sex marriage. The country had granted gay and lesbian couples the right to enter into a civil partnership in 2010.
On December 7, 2017, the Australian Parliament passed legislation allowing gay and lesbian couples to legally wed. Along with New Zealand, Australia became the second country in the Asia-Pacific region to make same-sex marriage legal.
Malta’s parliament almost unanimously voted to legalize same-sex marriage in July 2017, despite opposition from the Catholic Church.
On June 30, 2017, Germany became the 15th European country to enact legislation allowing same-sex couples to wed by 393-226 votes.
On April 28, 2016, Colombia became the fourth country in Catholic-majority South America to legalize same-sex marriage, following Argentina, Uruguay and Brazil.
Eleven years after same-sex marriage became lawful in Massachusetts, the United States Supreme Court ruled that it is guaranteed under the Constitution throughout the country.