Part of the LGBT rights series |
LGBTQportal |
Part of a series on |
LGBTQ rights |
---|
Lesbian ∙ Gay ∙ Bisexual ∙ Transgender ∙ Queer |
LGBTQ portal |
This article contains a timeline of significant events regarding same-sex marriage and legal recognition of same-sex couples worldwide. It begins with the history of same-sex unions during ancient times, which consisted of unions ranging from informal and temporary relationships to highly ritualized unions, and continues to modern-day state-recognized same-sex marriage. Events concerning same-sex marriages becoming legal in a country or in a country's state are listed in bold.
The summary table below lists in chronological order the sovereign states (United Nations member states plus Taiwan) that have legalized same-sex marriage. As of June 2024, 38 states have legalized, although two of those have not yet come into effect.
Dates are when marriages between same-sex couples began to be officially certified. When distinguished, the initial date is the date of legalization in the first subnational jurisdiction (state, province or constituent country), and the second is the completion date for all jurisdictions, not counting external territories (or in the case of the US, sovereign tribal nations). A dash indicates that same-sex marriage is not (yet) legal in all jurisdictions. This is the case for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, where the constituent country Sint Maarten has not yet legalized, and for the Realm of New Zealand, where the constituent countries of Niue and the Cook Islands have not legalized.
Member state | First jurisdiction | National ruling or final jurisdiction |
---|---|---|
Netherlands | 2001 | — |
Belgium | 2003 | |
Canada | 2003 | 2005 |
United States* | 2004 | 2015 |
Spain | 2005 | |
South Africa | 2006 | |
Norway | 2009 | |
Sweden | 2009 | |
Mexico | 2010 | 2022 |
Portugal | 2010 | |
Iceland | 2010 | |
Argentina | 2010 | |
Brazil | 2011 | 2013 |
Denmark | 2012 | 2017 |
France | 2013 | |
Uruguay | 2013 | |
New Zealand* | 2013 | — |
United Kingdom* | 2014 | 2020 |
Luxembourg | 2015 | |
Ireland | 2015 | |
Colombia | 2016 | |
Finland | 2017 | |
Malta | 2017 | |
Germany | 2017 | |
Australia | 2017 | |
Austria | 2019 | |
Taiwan | 2019 | |
Ecuador | 2019 | |
Costa Rica | 2020 | |
Chile | 2022 | |
Switzerland | 2022 | |
Slovenia | 2022 | |
Cuba | 2022 | |
Andorra | 2023 | |
Estonia | 2024 | |
Greece* | 2024 | |
Liechtenstein | 2025 | |
Thailand | 2025 |
* State controls one or more territories where same-sex marriage is not performed or not recognized.
Various types of same-sex marriages have existed, [1] ranging from informal, unsanctioned relationships to highly ritualized unions. [2]
Cicero mentions the marriage (using the Latin verb for "to marry", i.e. nubere) of the son of Curio the Elder, but he does it in a metaphorical form to criticize his enemy Antonius. Cicero states thus that the younger Curio was "united in a stable and permanent marriage" to Antonius. [3] Martial also mentions a number of same-sex marriages, but always in derisory terms against people whom he wants to mock. [4]
At least two of the Roman Emperors were in same-sex unions; and in fact, thirteen out of the first fourteen Roman Emperors held to be bisexual or exclusively homosexual. [5] The first Roman emperor to have married a man was Nero, who is reported to have married two other men on different occasions. First with one of his freedmen, Pythagoras, to whom Nero took the role of the bride, and later as a groom Nero married a young boy, who resembled one of his concubines, [6] named Sporus.
Adolescent emperor Elagabalus referred to his chariot driver, a blond slave from Caria named Hierocles, as his husband. [7] He also married an athlete named Zoticus in a lavish public ceremony in Rome amidst the rejoicings of the citizens. [8] In the Far East, same-sex marriage was recorded as normal and accepted by society in many of the native cultures of the Asia-Pacific region, such as Philippines. [9]
The Siwa Oasis in Egypt had a historical acceptance of male homosexuality and even rituals of same-sex marriage—traditions that Egyptian authorities have sought to repress, with increasing success, since the early 20th century. [10] The German egyptologist George Steindorff explored the oasis in 1900 and reported that homosexual relations were common and often extended to a form of marriage. [11]
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Chile since 10 March 2022. The path to legalization began in June 2021 when President Sebastián Piñera announced his administration's intention to sponsor a bill for this cause. The Chilean Senate passed the legislation on 21 July 2021, followed by the Chamber of Deputies on 23 November 2021. Due to disagreements between the two chambers of the National Congress on certain aspects of the bill, a mixed commission was formed to resolve these issues. A unified version of the bill was approved on 7 December 2021. President Piñera signed it into law on 9 December, and it was published in the country's official gazette on 10 December. The law took effect 90 days later, and the first same-sex marriages occurred on 10 March 2022. Chile was the sixth country in South America, the seventh in Latin America and the 29th in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage is legally recognized and performed throughout Mexico since 2022. On 10 August 2010 the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation ruled that same-sex marriages performed anywhere within Mexico must be recognized by the 31 states without exception, and fundamental spousal rights except for adoption have also applied to same-sex couples across the country. Mexico was the fifth country in North America and the 33rd worldwide to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Michoacán since 23 June 2016. On 18 May 2016, the Congress of Michoacán approved a bill to legalise same-sex marriage by a vote of 27 in favour, none opposed and 8 abstentions. The law was published in the state's official journal on 22 June, and took effect the following day. Previously, Congress had refused to amend the Family Code to legalize same-sex marriage, despite a ruling by a state judge requiring it to do so.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Campeche since 20 May 2016. In April 2016, Governor Alejandro Moreno Cárdenas introduced a same-sex marriage bill to the Congress of Campeche, which was approved on 10 May and entered into force 10 days later. Campeche had previously recognized same-sex couples in the form of civil unions only, which were enacted in 2013 and grant couples several of the rights and benefits of marriage.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Morelos since 5 July 2016. A bill to amend the State Constitution to legalize same-sex marriage in Morelos passed Congress on 18 May 2016 by 20 votes to 6. Ratification by a majority of the state's 33 municipalities was confirmed on 27 June 2016. The law was published in the official state gazette on 4 July 2016 and took effect the following day.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Querétaro since 13 November 2021. On 22 September 2021, the Legislature of Querétaro passed a law legalizing same-sex marriage. The law was published in the state's official gazette on 12 November, and took effect the following day. Previously, same-sex couples could marry in eight of the eighteen municipalities of Querétaro, comprising 60% of the state's population, despite a state law prohibiting same-sex marriage.
This is a list of notable events in LGBTQ rights that took place in the 2010s.
Same-sex marriage is legal in Nuevo León in accordance with a ruling from the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation issued on 19 February 2019 that the state's ban on same-sex marriage violated the Constitution of Mexico. The ruling came into effect on 31 May 2019 upon publication in the Official Journal of the Federation. By statute, in Mexico, if any five rulings from the courts on a single issue result in the same outcome, legislatures are bound to change the law. In the case of Nuevo León, almost 20 amparos were decided with the same outcome, yet the state did not act. On 19 February 2019, the Supreme Court issued a definitive ruling in an action of unconstitutionality, declaring the state's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional, void and unenforceable.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Zacatecas since 30 December 2021. On 14 December 2021, the Congress of Zacatecas passed a same-sex marriage bill by 18 votes to 10. The legislation was published in the official state gazette on 29 December, and came into force the following day. Prior to statewide legalisation, five municipalities of Zacatecas issued marriage licenses to same-sex couples despite a state ban, comprising about a quarter of the state population. These five municipalities were Zacatecas, Cuauhtémoc, Villanueva, Miguel Auza and Fresnillo.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in San Luis Potosí since 21 May 2019. The Congress of San Luis Potosí approved a bill to legalize same-sex marriage on 16 May 2019. It was signed into law by Governor Juan Manuel Carreras on 17 May and published in the official state journal on 20 May. The law took effect the following day.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Veracruz since 13 June 2022. On 30 May 2022, the Mexican Supreme Court ruled that the state's same-sex marriage ban violated Articles 1 and 4 of the Constitution of Mexico. The ruling was meant to take effect upon publication in the Official Journal of the Federation, but the Congress of Veracruz passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage just three days later, on 2 June. The law was published in the official state journal on 13 June and went into effect the same day.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Sinaloa since 30 June 2021. On 12 June 2021, a federal court ordered the Congress of Sinaloa to pass a same-sex marriage law by 15 June, in accordance with jurisprudence established by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. Subsequently, same-sex marriage legislation passed Congress unanimously on 15 June. It was published in the official state journal on 29 June, and entered into force the following day, making Sinaloa the 20th Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Yucatán since 4 March 2022. On 25 August 2021, the Congress of Yucatán removed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages. The new law entered into force on 7 September 2021. Congress had 180 days to change statutory law to accommodate same-sex marriage, and did so unanimously on 1 March. The law took effect three days later, and made Yucatán the 25th Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage.
The recognition of same-sex unions varies by country.
Same-sex marriage had been legal in Guanajuato since 20 December 2021. That day, the Secretary General of Government, Libia Dennise García Muñoz, issued an official directive addressed to officials of the state civil registry that, effective immediately, same-sex couples can marry in the state. Guanajuato became the 23rd Mexican state, and the 24th jurisdiction, to legalize same-sex marriage. However, as a new governor took office, the directive expired on 26 September 2024, possibly meaning that same-sex couples can only marry through an injunction, as it was before the decree was issued.
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ rights that took place in the year 2022.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Tabasco since 27 October 2022. A bill to legalise same-sex marriage was passed by the Congress of Tabasco on 19 October 2022. It was signed by Governor Carlos Manuel Merino Campos, and published in the official state journal on 26 October, taking effect the next day. Tabasco was the fourth-to-last state in Mexico to legalize same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Durango since 19 September 2022 in accordance with an executive order issued by Governor Esteban Villegas Villarreal the previous day, addressed to officials of the state civil registry that same-sex couples can marry in the state. The Congress of Durango passed same-sex marriage legislation three days later.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in the State of Mexico since 2 November 2022. On 11 October 2022, the Congress of the State of Mexico voted 50–16 with seven abstentions to pass a bill legalizing same-sex marriage. It was published on 1 November 2022, and took effect the next day. The State of Mexico was the third-to-last state in Mexico to provide for same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Tamaulipas since 19 November 2022. On 26 October 2022, the Congress of Tamaulipas passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in a 23–12 vote. It was published in the official state journal on 18 November, and took effect the following day. Tamaulipas was the second-to-last Mexican state to legalize same-sex marriage.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)O pedido então será encaminhado ao juiz da comarca responsável, que decidirá sobre cada caso
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)