Same-sex marriage in Canada was progressively introduced in several provinces by court decisions beginning in 2003 before being legally recognized nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act on July 20, 2005. On June 10, 2003, the Court of Appeal for Ontario issued a decision immediately legalizing same-sex marriage in Ontario, thereby becoming the first province where it was legal. The introduction of a federal gender-neutral marriage definition made Canada the fourth country in the world, and the first country outside Europe, to legally recognize same-sex marriage throughout its borders. Before the federal recognition of same-sex marriage, court decisions had already introduced it in eight out of ten provinces and one of three territories, whose residents collectively made up about 90% of Canada's population. More than 3,000 same-sex couples had already married in those areas before the Civil Marriage Act was passed. Most legal benefits commonly associated with marriage had been extended to cohabiting same-sex couples since 1999.
Same-sex marriage in the Republic of Ireland has been legal since 16 November 2015. A referendum on 22 May 2015 amended the Constitution of Ireland to provide that marriage is recognised irrespective of the sex of the partners. The measure was signed into law by the President of Ireland as the Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland on 29 August 2015. The Marriage Act 2015, passed by the Oireachtas on 22 October 2015 and signed into law by the Presidential Commission on 29 October 2015, gave legislative effect to the amendment. Marriages of same-sex couples in Ireland began being recognised from 16 November 2015, and the first marriage ceremonies of same-sex couples in Ireland occurred on 17 November 2015.
Marriage is a devolved issue in the different parts of the United Kingdom, and the status of same-sex marriage is different in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Same-sex marriage is recognised and performed in England, Scotland, and Wales, but not Northern Ireland.
Civil union has been legal in New Zealand since 26 April 2005. The Civil Union Act 2004 to establish the institution of civil union for same-sex and opposite-sex couples was passed by the Parliament on 9 December 2004. The Act has been described as very similar to the Marriage Act 1955 with references to "marriage" replaced by "civil union". A companion bill, the Relationships Act, was passed shortly thereafter on 15 March 2005, to remove discriminatory provisions on the basis of relationship status from a range of statutes and regulations. As a result of these bills, all couples in New Zealand, whether married, in a civil union, or in a de facto partnership, now generally enjoy the same rights and undertake the same obligations. These rights extend to immigration, next-of-kin status, social welfare, matrimonial property and other areas. Non-married couples are not however permitted to adopt children, although people in non-marital relationships can adopt as individuals.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in the U.S. state of New Jersey since October 21, 2013, the effective date of a trial court ruling invalidating the state's restriction of marriage to persons of different sexes.
Same-sex marriage is not legal in Taiwan. However, on 24 May 2017, the Constitutional Court ruled that same-sex couples have the right to marry under the Constitution and that the Legislative Yuan has two years to amend the marriage laws to align with the Constitution. According to the Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748, if this is not done, same-sex couples will be able to have their unions registered as marriages and be treated as such by law. At present, a number of jurisdictions, including the nine largest cities and nine other counties, covering 94% of the country's population, allow same-sex couples to register as partners, though the rights afforded by such registrations are less than marriage.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in the U.S. state of Rhode Island since August 1, 2013. The state had authorized a limited form of domestic partnerships from 2002 to 2011, and the formation of civil unions from 2011 until the state began recognizing same-sex marriages in 2013.
Five referendums were held in Switzerland during 2005. The first two were held on 5 June on Switzerland joining the Schengen Area and whether registered partnerships for same-sex couples should be introduced. Both questions were approved. The third was held on 25 September on a federal resolution on extending the agreement on free movement of people to new members of the European Union, and was also approved. The final two were held on 27 November on a popular initiative "for food from an agriculture free of genetic modification" and on a labour law related to the opening times of shops in public transport hubs. Both were approved.
Slovakia does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. In addition, the Constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples. Bills to recognise same-sex partnerships were introduced four times, in 1997, in 2000, in 2012 and in 2018, but were all rejected.
Same-sex marriage in Malta has been legal since 1 September 2017, following the passage of legislation in the Parliament on 12 July 2017. The bill was signed into law by Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, the President of Malta, on 1 August 2017. On 25 August 2017, the Minister for Equality issued a legal notice to commence the law on 1 September 2017.
The Bermudan independence referendum of 1995 was a referendum held in Bermuda on 16 August 1995 over whether Bermuda should become an independent sovereign state or remain a British Dependent Territory. On a voter turnout of 58.8%, 73.6% voted against independence, and 25.7% voted in favour. Following the decisive referendum result, Sir John Swan, in favour of independence, resigned as Premier of Bermuda.
Maine Question 1 was a voter referendum on an initiated state statute that occurred November 6, 2012. The title of the citizen initiative is "An Act to Allow Marriage Licenses for Same-Sex Couples and Protect Religious Freedom". The question that appeared on the ballot was: "Do you want to allow the State of Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?"
Question 6 is a referendum that appeared on the general election ballot for the U.S. state of Maryland to allow voters to approve or reject the Civil Marriage Protection Act—a bill legalizing same-sex marriage passed by the General Assembly in 2012. The referendum was approved by 52.4% of voters on November 6, 2012 and thereafter went into effect on January 1, 2013.
A constitutional referendum was held in Croatia on 1 December 2013. The proposed amendment to the constitution would define marriage as being a union between a man and a woman, which would create a constitutional prohibition against same-sex marriage. 37.9% of eligible voters voted. After processing all of the ballots, the State Election Commission announced that 65.87% voted yes, 33.51% no and 0.57% of ballots were disregarded as invalid.
This page lists the public opinion polls that were conducted in relation to the Scottish independence referendum, 2014, that was held on 18 September 2014. Overall, polls showed that support for a "No" vote was dominant until the end of August 2014, when support for a "Yes" vote gained momentum and the gap closed significantly, with at least one poll placing the "Yes" vote ahead. In the final week of the campaign, polls showed the "No" vote to be consistently but somewhat narrowly ahead. There were no exit polls although a YouGov post-election poll was published shortly after the polls closed. For the history of the campaign itself see Scottish independence referendum, 2014, Yes Scotland, and Better Together (campaign).
The Thirty-fourth Amendment of the Constitution Act 2015 amended the Constitution of Ireland to permit marriage to be contracted by two persons without distinction as to their sex. Prior to the enactment, the Constitution was assumed to contain an implicit prohibition on same-sex marriage in the Republic of Ireland. It was approved at a referendum on 22 May 2015 by 62% of voters on a turnout of 61%. This was the first time that a state legalised same-sex marriage through a popular vote. Two legal challenges regarding the conduct of the referendum were dismissed on 30 July by the Court of Appeal, and the bill was signed into law by the President of Ireland on 29 August. The Marriage Act 2015 then amended marriage law to give effect to the constitutional amendment, which came into force on 16 November 2015, with the first same-sex marriage ceremony being held on 17 November 2015.
Public opinion of same-sex marriage in Australia has shifted from 38% support in 2004 to consistent majority support of 61% in 2017.
A multi-question referendum was held in Taiwan on 24 November 2018 alongside local elections. The referendum was the first since the December 2017 reform to the Referendum Act, which reduced the threshold for submitting questions to the ballot; under the new system, signatures from 1.5 percent of the electorate were required to successfully put a question on the ballot, reduced from 5 percent previously.
