Gay marriage south america

See a timeline highlighting changes in state policies from Greenland On May 22, , Catholic-majority Ireland became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage through a popular referendum. In , Argentina became the first country in the region to approve same-sex marriage; 20, same-sex Argentine couples have since married.

The law only applies to England and Wales because Scotland and Northern Ireland are semi-autonomous and have separate legislative bodies to decide many domestic issues, including the definition of marriage. True to their campaign promises, Hollande and the Socialists have pushed through a law that not only legalizes same-sex marriage but also gives gay and lesbian couples the right to adopt children—a provision that has drawn especially strong criticism from French Catholic leaders.

Same-sex marriages are currently legal in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Mexico, United States and Uruguay. On Feb. In addition to allowing same-sex couples to wed, the measure gives churches and other religious groups the option of deciding whether or not they want to conduct such marriages.

On Dec. Along with New Zealand, Australia became the second country in the Asia-Pacific region to to make same-sex marriage legal. Cubans overwhelmingly approved gay marriage and adoption in a government-backed referendum on Sunday, a landmark vote half a century after a wave of state persecution sent many homosexual people.

On April 28, , 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 was first made legal in Massachusetts, the U. Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution guarantees it throughout the country.

In Mexico, some jurisdictions allow same-sex couples to wed, while others do not. The two largest churches in Scotland — the Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church — oppose same-sex marriage and lobbied against the bill. The law took effect in August Laws governing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights are complex and diverse in the Americas, and acceptance of LGBTQ persons varies widely.

On May 18, French President Francois Hollande signed into law a measure legalizing same-sex marriage, making France the 14th country to grant gays and lesbians the right to wed. On April 17, the New Zealand Parliament gave final approval to a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage, making the Pacific island nation the 13th country in the world and the first in the Asia-Pacific region to allow gays and lesbians to wed.

Free unions that are equivalent to marriage have begun to be recognized in Bolivia. A growing number of governments around the world are considering whether to grant legal recognition to same-sex marriages. But gay marriage is also the. So far, more than two dozen countries have enacted national laws allowing gays and lesbians to marry, mostly in Europe and the Americas.

The law grants for same-sex couples all the rights and responsibilities of marriage, including the right to adopt children. Argentina The most recent country to legalize same-sex marriages has been Argentina, also the first country in South America to do so.

The most LGBT-Friendly Places in South America The Equality Index measures the current status of LGBT rights, laws, and freedoms as well as public attitudes towards LGBT people. While recent polls show that a majority of French adults support the law, opposition to the change has been intense.

The first same-sex marriage to be performed under the law was on July 30, Argentina saw considerable opposition to the law. Latin America has the highest rates of violence against the LGBT community, but it also has some of the most progressive laws for LGBT equality and protection.

Joining South Africa, Canada and seven European countries, Argentina has now extended the full rights of marriage to gays and lesbians nationwide. Since the beginning of , several anti-gay marriage protests with occasionally volatile crowds numbering in the hundreds of thousands have taken place in Paris and elsewhere.

The day before, the measure had won final passage in the British Parliament after months of debate. The new law in England and Wales, which was a priority for British Prime Minister and Conservative Party leader David Cameron, allowed gay and lesbian couples to marry beginning March 29, However, the law prohibits same-sex weddings within the Church of England, which continues to define marriage as between one man and one woman.

The law, signed by President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner on July 21, , means that civil registries can now process marriage licenses for gay couples with the first ceremony set for August 13 in Buenos Aires. In addition to allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt, the legislation sets the legal age of marriage at 18 and eliminates the existing requirement that couples who want to marry must first submit to a medical exam.

Latin America has also made impressive progress on marriage equality. Same-sex marriage will become legal in Finland starting in Finland becomes the last of the five Nordic countries to legalize same-sex marriage, joining Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. On June 30, , Germany became the 15th European country to enact legislation allowing same-sex couples to wed.

Before the ruling, 36 states and the District of Columbia had legalized same-sex marriage. In , neighboring Brazil and Uruguay followed suit, and later Colombia (), Ecuador () and Costa Rica ().