| Part of the LGBT rights series |
 LGBTQportal |
Palau does not recognise same-sex marriage, civil unions or any other form of recognition for same-sex couples. The Constitution of Palau has forbidden same-sex marriages since 2008, though a campaign to repeal this ban was launched in 2019.
Marriage (Palauan : chebechiil) [a] in Palau traditionally followed a matrilineal system and was marked by formal exchange of prescribed foods and wealth between the spouses' clans. Historically, marriages were arranged, but today individuals may choose their own partners. [2] Concubinage (klumengelungel) was also recognized as an institutionalized practice, despite attempts by Spanish and German authorities to discourage it during colonization. [3] Additionally, Christianity was introduced to Palau during this time, shaping societal perceptions. Anal intercourse between men became illegal under colonial law during this period. The law was repealed with the enactment of a new penal code in 2014. [4] Nevertheless, society generally does not accept same-sex relationships, and LGBT people continue to experience social marginalisation and discrimination today. [5]
It is unknown if Palauan society historically recognised a third gender structure similarly to other Micronesian cultures, such as in Chuuk where such individuals are known as wininmwáán. [6] The contemporary word for a "homosexual" is mengol a otaor, which may be viewed as derogatory, [7] based on the word for "concubine" mengol.
The Constitution of Palau has defined marriage as between "a man and a woman" since 2008. The constitutional ban was among 22 amendments passed during a referendum on November 4, 2008. Previously, the Constitution did not address same-sex marriage or marriage explicitly. [8] [9] [10] Article IV, Section 13 of the Constitution was amended to read: [11]
The government shall provide for marital and related parental rights, privileges and responsibilities on the basis of equality between men and women, mutual consent and cooperation. All marriages contracted within the Republic of Palau shall be between a man and a woman. Parents or individuals acting in the capacity of parents shall be legally responsible for the support and for the unlawful conduct of their minor children as prescribed by law. [b]
In July 2019, in response to a question at a weekly press conference, President Tommy Remengesau Jr. said he supported striking down the ban, branding it discriminatory and saying he believed in "full equality". "Those who are different doesn't mean that they should be outcast, second class citizens, or that they can't contribute to the community. So I want to make it clear that I don't believe in the constitutional amendment that promote[s] discrimination. I want it to be on record that I support the rights of each individual, any Palauan, to be treated equally... Let us treat each other with respect and dignity. This won't be positive for us at the UN level as the trend worldwide is opening up to these individual rights, but we are taking a step backward", he said. He finished his statements with "as long as they believe in God like everyone else, we can treat each other with respect and dignity". [13] [14] [15] Local activists called his comments a "very surprising and progressive act". [16]
A popular initiative led by Pearl Marumoto and Rondy Ronny, announced on a Palauan television talk show, was launched in 2019 to legalise same-sex marriage in Palau. [17] The organisers sought the support of 25 percent of registered voters, as required by the Palauan Constitution, to facilitate a vote on repealing the constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. For the Constitution to be amended, a simple majority of votes cast and approval in 12 of the 16 states of Palau is required. Local observers said the initiative faced "an uphill battle". No referendum on repealing the ban has taken place as of 2024. [18]
In February 2014, a bill was introduced to the Senate of Palau to define marriage in the National Code as being between "a man and a woman" in order to give statutory effect to the new constitutional definition of marriage. The bill passed its first reading in May 2014, but eventually did not pass the National Congress. The Kaleidoscope Australia Human Rights Foundation (KHRF) considered that if enacted, the bill would have "further entrench[ed] discrimination against same-sex couples in Palauan law". Palau also does not recognize civil unions, which would provide same-sex couples a subset of the rights and benefits of marriage. The KHRF reported in 2016 that the constitutional definition of marriage "[does] not hinder the ability of the National Congress to legislate for other forms of relationship recognition". [19] At Palau's second Universal Periodic Review on 21 January 2016, Spain recommended the government to legalize same-sex marriage. The government "noted" (rejected) these recommendations. [19]
The National Code does not expressly forbid same-sex marriages, but its provisions on marriages between two non-citizens or between a citizen and a non-citizen state that "the male" must be at least 18 years of age and "the female" at least 16 years of age. [20]
Palau law does not expressly ban the recognition of same-sex marriages validly performed abroad, but an attempt to register an overseas same-sex marriage was denied in 2014. [21] This refusal was not pursued in court. A 2023 government report recommended allowing same-sex couples married abroad to be recognized and allow surviving spouses to access insurance social security benefits. The report, which according to Vice President Uduch Sengebau Senior can serve as "valuable resource for informed-decision making and policy formulation", also noted that the "LGBT community in Palau supports the removal of the constitutional provision against same-sex marriage". [21] [22]
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Singapore have evolved over the decades. Same-sex sexual activity is legal for both males and females; for men it was officially legalised in 2022 after being de facto decriminalised since 2007, and for women it was always legal. Prior to 2022, same-sex sexual activity between males was de jure illegal under the British colonial-era Section 377A of the Penal Code. The law had been de facto unenforced for decades. In February 2022, the Court of Appeal in the Supreme Court reaffirmed that 377A cannot be used to prosecute men for having sex with other men, and that it is "unenforceable in its entirety". Transgender rights in the country are also progressive in the region, which included Singapore being the first country in Asia to legalise sex reassignment surgery in 1973.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Oregon since May 19, 2014, when Judge Michael J. McShane of the U.S. District Court for the District Court of Oregon ruled in Geiger v. Kitzhaber that Oregon's 2004 state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. A campaign that was then under way to win voter approval of a constitutional amendment legalizing same-sex marriage was suspended following the decision. In July 2015, Governor Kate Brown signed legislation codifying same-sex marriage in various Oregon statutes. The law change went into effect on January 1, 2016.
Proposition 2 was a referendum for a state constitutional amendment placed on the ballot by the Texas legislature and approved by the voters at the November 8, 2005 general election. The measure added a new provision to the Texas Constitution, Article 1, Section 32, which provides that "Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman", and "This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage." Texas thus became the nineteenth US state to adopt constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. It was the most populous state to adopt a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage until California passed its ban in November 2008. The amendment was later invalidated in June 2015 after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in the Obergefell v. Hodges decision, though the amendment remains in the Texas Constitution.
Nebraska Initiative 416, officially titled "Ban Same-Sex Marriage Act", was a 2000 ballot initiative that amended the Nebraska Constitution to make it unconstitutional for the state to recognize or perform same-sex marriage, same-sex civil unions or domestic partnerships. The referendum was approved on November 7, 2000, by 70% of the voters. The initiative has since been struck down in federal court and same-sex marriage is now legally recognized in the state of Nebraska.
The Amendment 774 of 2006, also known as Alabama Sanctity of Marriage Amendment, is an amendment to the Alabama Constitution that makes it unconstitutional for the state to recognize or perform same-sex marriages or civil unions. The legislature passed Alabama Act 2005-35, which placed this amendment on the election ballot. The referendum was approved by 81% of the voters.
2006 Virginia Question 1, the Marshall-Newman Amendment is an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia that defines marriage as solely between one man and one woman and bans recognition of any legal status "approximat[ing] the design, qualities, significance, or effects of marriage". The amendment was ratified by 57% of the voters on November 7, 2006. It became part of the state Constitution as Section 15-A of Article 1. In 2014, the amendment was ruled unconstitutional in Bostic v. Schaefer.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Hawaii since December 2, 2013. The Hawaii State Legislature held a special session beginning on October 28, 2013, and passed the Hawaii Marriage Equality Act legalizing same-sex marriage. Governor Neil Abercrombie signed the legislation on November 13, and same-sex couples began marrying on December 2, making Hawaii the fifteenth U.S. state to legalize same-sex marriage. Hawaii also allows both same-sex and opposite-sex couples to formalize their relationships legally in the form of civil unions and reciprocal beneficiary relationships. Civil unions provide the same rights, benefits, and obligations of marriage at the state level, while reciprocal beneficiary relationships provide a more limited set of rights. When Hawaii's civil union law took effect at the start of 2012, same-sex marriages established in other jurisdictions were considered civil unions in Hawaii.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of New Hampshire enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people, with most advances in LGBT rights occurring in the state within the past two decades. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in New Hampshire, and the state began offering same-sex couples the option of forming a civil union on January 1, 2008. Civil unions offered most of the same protections as marriages with respect to state law, but not the federal benefits of marriage. Same-sex marriage in New Hampshire has been legally allowed since January 1, 2010, and one year later New Hampshire's civil unions expired, with all such unions converted to marriages. New Hampshire law has also protected against discrimination based on sexual orientation since 1998 and gender identity since 2018. Additionally, a conversion therapy ban on minors became effective in the state in January 2019. In effect since January 1, 2024, the archaic common-law "gay panic defence" was formally abolished; by legislation implemented within August 2023.
Florida Amendment 2 is an amendment made to the constitution of the U.S. state of Florida in 2008. It added Article I, Section 27 to the constitution, which defines marriage as a union only between one man and one woman, and thus bans the creation of similar unions, such as civil unions or same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage has been fully recognized in the U.S. state of Minnesota since August 1, 2013. Same-sex marriages have been recognized if performed in other jurisdictions since July 1, 2013, and the state began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples on August 1. After 51.9% of state voters rejected a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage in November 2012, the Minnesota Legislature passed a same-sex marriage bill in May 2013, which Governor Mark Dayton signed on May 14, 2013. Minnesota was the second state in the Midwest, after Iowa, to legalize marriage between same-sex couples, and the first in the region to do so by enacting legislation rather than by court order. Minnesota was the first state to reject a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, though Arizona rejected one in 2006 that banned all legal recognition and later approved one banning only marriage.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Nevada enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex marriage has been legal since October 8, 2014, due to the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in Sevcik v. Sandoval. Same-sex couples may also enter a domestic partnership status that provides many of the same rights and responsibilities as marriage. However, domestic partners lack the same rights to medical coverage as their married counterparts and their parental rights are not as well defined. Same-sex couples are also allowed to adopt children. Since 2022 the Nevada Constitution explicitly includes both sexual orientation and gender identity - discrimination laws since 1999 included sexual orientation for employment and expanded thereafter to housing and accommodation. In addition, conversion therapy on minors is outlawed in the state.
Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in Nevada since October 9, 2014, when a federal district court judge issued an injunction against enforcement of Nevada's same-sex marriage ban, acting on order from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. A unanimous three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit had ruled two days earlier that the state's ban on same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Same-sex marriage was previously banned by an amendment to the Constitution of Nevada, which was approved by voters in 2002. The statutory ban on same-sex marriages was repealed by the Nevada Legislature in 2017, and the constitutional ban was repealed by voters in 2020 by 62–38 percent.
El Salvador does not recognize same-sex marriage, civil unions or any other legal union for same-sex couples. A proposal to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage and adoption by same-sex couples was rejected twice in 2006, and once again in April 2009 after the Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front (FMLN) refused to grant the measure the four votes it needed to be ratified.
Singapore does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions. In 2022, the Parliament of Singapore passed a constitutional amendment giving itself "the power to define, regulate, protect and promote the institution of marriage".
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Palau do not possess the same legal protections as non-LGBT residents, and may face social challenges that are not experienced by others. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Palau since 23 July 2014, when the current Penal Code took effect, but households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Same-sex marriage is constitutionally banned, and there are no anti-discrimination laws concerning sexual orientation and gender identity.
North Carolina Amendment 1 is a partially overturned legislatively referred constitutional amendment in North Carolina that amended the Constitution of North Carolina to add ARTICLE XIV, Section 6, which prohibit the state from recognizing or performing same-sex marriages, civil unions or civil union equivalents by defining male–female marriage as "the only domestic legal union" considered valid or recognized in the state. It did not prohibit domestic partnerships in the state and also constitutionally protected same-sex and opposite-sex prenuptial agreements, which is the only part that is still in effect today. On May 8, 2012, North Carolina voters approved the amendment, 61% to 39%, with a voter turnout of 35%. On May 23, 2012, the amendment took effect.
A twenty-three-part referendum was held in Palau on 4 November 2008 alongside the country's general elections. Voters were asked questions on requirements of citizenship to hold office, government provision of primary school and health care, the definition of marriage and term limits for Parliament. Only the proposal permitting naturalization for certain adoptees failed to obtain the requisite majority of the vote and majority in 3/4th of the states.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Virginia since October 6, 2014, following the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court not to hear an appeal of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling in Bostic v. Schaefer. Same-sex marriages subsequently began at 1:00 p.m. on October 6 after the Fourth Circuit issued its mandate, and since then Virginia has performed legal marriages of same-sex couples and recognized out-of-state same-sex marriages. Previously, the state had passed a statute prohibiting same-sex marriage in 1975, and further restrictions were added in 1997 and 2004, which made "void and unenforceable" any arrangements between same-sex couples bestowing the "privileges or obligations of marriage". Voters approved an amendment to the Constitution of Virginia reinforcing the existing laws in 2006. On January 14, 2014, a U.S. district court judge ruled in Bostic that Virginia's statutory and constitutional ban on the state recognition of same-sex marriages were unconstitutional, a decision upheld by the Fourth Circuit on July 28, 2014.
Same-sex unions are currently not recognized in Honduras. Since 2005, the Constitution of Honduras has explicitly banned same-sex marriage. In January 2022, the Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to this ban, but a request for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to review whether the ban violates the American Convention on Human Rights is pending. A same-sex marriage bill was introduced to Congress in May 2022.
A referendum was held on 25 September 2022 in Cuba to approve amendments to the Family Code of the Cuban Constitution. The referendum passed, greatly strengthening gender equality, legalizing same-sex marriage, same-sex adoption, and altruistic surrogacy, and affirming a wide range of rights and protections for women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities. Following the referendum, Cuba's family policies have been described as among the most progressive in Latin America.
Status of same-sex unions around the world | ||
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| Same-sex marriage prohibited by constitutional amendment |
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| Same-sex marriage and civil unions prohibited by constitutional amendment | |
