Same-sex union legislation

  Marriage open to same-sex couples

  Recognized when performed in certain other jurisdictions

  Government/court announced intention to legalize marriage

  Civil unions

  Government/court announced intention to legalize civil unions

  Unregistered cohabitation

  Same-sex unions not legally recognized

Colors higher in the list override those lower down.
rings = individual cases

Legal status of same-sex unions
Marriage Performed Argentina Belgium Brazil Canada Colombia Denmark: · Denmark proper · Greenland Finland* France Iceland Ireland Luxembourg Mexico: · CM, CS*, CH, · CA, CL*, GR3, · JA, MC* NA · QR, CDMX Netherlands: · Netherlands proper New Zealand: · New Zealand proper Norway Portugal South Africa Spain Sweden United Kingdom: · England and Wales · Scotland · Pitcairn Islands United States: · United States proper · GU, MP, PR, VI · some tribal jurisdictions Uruguay Recognized Mexico1 Netherlands: · AW, CW, SX2 United Kingdom: · Guernsey Civil unions and registered partnerships Andorra Australia: · ACT, NSW, QLD, · SA, TAS, VIC Austria Chile Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Ecuador Estonia Germany Greece Hungary Italy* Japan: · various jurisdictions Liechtenstein Malta Slovenia Switzerland Taiwan: · KH, NT, TG, TN, TP, TY · CS, CG, HH United Kingdom: · Northern Ireland · Isle of Man · Jersey · Gibraltar Unregistered cohabitation Australia Costa Rica Israel San Marino See also Same-sex union legislation Same-sex union court cases Timeline of same-sex marriage Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe Recognition of same-sex unions in North America Recognition of same-sex unions in Oceania Recognition of same-sex unions in South America Marriage privatization Divorce of same-sex couples Domestic partnership Military policy Adoption Listings by country
When performed in Mexican states that have legalized same-sex marriage When performed in the Netherlands proper Marriages performed in some municipalities and recognized by the state * Not yet in effect
LGBT portal

Same-sex marriage is legal in fifteen countries: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay; as well as certain sub-jurisdictions (parts of Denmark, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States). A similar law in Finland will be in force in 2017.

Same-sex marriage is recognized, but not performed, in Israel and Malta. Furthermore, same-sex marriages performed in the Netherlands are recognized in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

Whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry has been and remains the topic of debate worldwide. Twenty-nine countries and five jurisdictions worldwide have passed constitutional and/or statutory amendments that explicitly prohibit the legal recognition of same-sex marriage and sometimes other forms of legal unions as well. Twenty countries and twenty-six jurisdictions worldwide have authorized civil unions or unregistered cohabitation for same-sex couples as an alternative to marriage. The legal name of those unions as well as the amount of rights that they provide can vary greatly.

Legislative efforts to recognise same-sex unions

National level

The first legislation of unregistered cohabitation was introduced in the Netherlands in June 1979. However, the first substantial recognition of same-sex couples didn't occur before the introduction of a new legal form, that of registered partnerships, which was first enacted in Denmark in June 1989. Many countries have followed with similar legislation since then. Legislation of these forms of legal unions still occur with a variety of different names, even after the introduction of same sex marriage, although sometimes they are overwritten by subsequent legislation of same-sex marriage.

There are currently twenty-one countries that have an alternative form of legal recognition other than marriage on a national level. Those are Andorra, Australia, Austria, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Malta, San Marino (although only for one entitlement), Slovenia and Switzerland.

As of May 2016, legislation to allow or expand any kind of alternative form of legal recognition of same-sex couples other than marriage have been proposed, is pending, or have passed at least one legislative house on a national level in Bolivia, Costa Rica, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Monaco, Peru, San Marino, Slovenia, Taiwan and Thailand.

The first same-sex marriage bill ever voted on was passed in the Netherlands in December 2000 and went into force in 2001. Belgium passed a same-sex marriage bill in 2003. Spain and Canada legalized same-sex marriage in 2005 and South Africa legalized it in 2006 thus becoming the next three countries to pass such bills. Same-sex marriage was legalized in both Norway and Sweden in 2009 and in Portugal, Iceland and Argentina in 2010. Denmark opened marriage to same-sex couples in 2012. Brazil, France, Uruguay and New Zealand gave same-sex couples the right to marry in 2013. The United Kingdom allows same-sex marriage since 2014. Same-sex marriage in Luxembourg, the United States and Ireland became legal in 2015. The law in Finland is expected to take effect on 1 March 2017.

As of May 2016, legislation to allow same sex marriage have been proposed, is pending, or have passed at least one legislative house on a national level in Austria, Chile, Costa Rica, Germany, Mexico, the Philippines, Switzerland and Taiwan.

Country	Date	Same-sex union	Upper house		Lower house		Head of state	Law enacted?
			Yes	No	Yes	No
Netherlands	June 1979	Unregistered cohabitation	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Netherlands	December 1980	Unregistered cohabitation (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Netherlands	November 1984	Unregistered cohabitation (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Denmark	June 1986	Unregistered cohabitation	N/A		78	62	Signed	Yes
Sweden	June 1987	Unregistered cohabitation	N/A		Passed		N/A1	Yes
Denmark	June 1989	Registered partnership	N/A		71	47	Signed	Yes2
Norway	July 1991	Unregistered cohabitation	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Norway	April 1993	Registered partnership	18	16	58	40	Signed	Yes2
Sweden	June 1994	Registered partnership	N/A		171	141	N/A1	Yes2
Spain	November 1994	Unregistered cohabitation	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Hungary	May 1996	Unregistered cohabitation	N/A		207	73	Signed	Yes
Iceland	June 1996	Confirmed cohabitation	N/A		44	1	Signed	Yes2
Slovakia	May 1997	Registered partnership	N/A		Failed		—	No
Netherlands	July 1997	Registered partnership	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Andorra	December 1997	De facto family union	N/A		11	17	—	No
Czech Republic	June 1998	Registered partnership	—	—	Failed		—	No
France	October 1998	Civil solidarity pact	—	—	Failed		—	No
Belgium	January 1999	Legal cohabitation	39	8	98	10	Signed	Yes
Sweden	March 1999	Registered partnership (expansion)	N/A		Passed		N/A1	Yes2
Denmark	June 1999	Registered partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		61	48	Signed	Yes2
France	November 1999	Civil solidarity pact and concubinage	Passed		315	249	Signed	Yes
Czech Republic	December 1999	Registered partnership	—	—	69	91	—	No
Slovakia	February 2000	Registered partnership	N/A		Failed		—	No
Canada	April 2000	Common-law partnership	Passed		174	72	Signed	Yes
Iceland	May 2000	Confirmed cohabitation (expansion: adoption and immigration rights)	N/A		49	1	Signed	Yes2
Germany	November 2000	Registered life partnership	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Netherlands	December 2000	Marriage	49	26	109	33	Signed	Yes
Norway	December 2000	Registered partnership (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes2
Portugal	March 2001	De facto union	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Zealand	April 2001	De facto relationship	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Czech Republic	April 2001	Unregistered cohabitation	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Norway	June 2001	Registered partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes2
Finland	September 2001	Registered partnership	N/A		99	84	Signed	Yes
Czech Republic	October 2001	Registered partnership	—	—	Failed		—	No
Sweden	June 2002	Registered partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		N/A1	Yes2
Belgium	February 2003	Marriage	46	15	91	22	Signed	Yes
Denmark	May 2003	Registered partnership (expansion)	N/A		49	60	—	No
Denmark	May 2003	Registered partnership (expansion)	N/A		45	60	—	No
Denmark	May 2003	Registered partnership (expansion)	N/A		43	61	—	No
Denmark	June 2003	Registered partnership (expansion)	N/A		11	94	—	No
Croatia	July 2003	Unregistered cohabitation	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Luxembourg	May 2004	Free union	N/A		Failed		—	No
Luxembourg	May 2004	Marriage	N/A		Failed		—	No
Luxembourg	July 2004	Partnership	N/A		33	7	Signed	Yes
Panama	September 2004	Civil union	N/A		Failed		—	No
Germany	October 2004	Registered life partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Norway	November 2004	Marriage	N/A		Failed		—	No
United Kingdom	November 2004	Civil partnership	251	136	426	49	Signed	Yes
New Zealand	November 2004	De facto relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Zealand	December 2004	Civil union	N/A		65	55	Signed	Yes
Czech Republic	February 2005	Registered partnership	—	—	Failed		—	No
Andorra	March 2005	Stable couple union	N/A		Passed		Signed 3	Yes
Slovenia	March 2005	Registered partnership	N/A4		Failed		—	No
New Zealand	March 2005	Civil union and de facto relationship (expansion)	N/A		76	43	Signed	Yes
Sweden	June 2005	Registered partnership (expansion)	N/A		Passed		N/A1	Yes2
Switzerland	June 2005	Registered partnership	Passed		Passed		N/A	Yes
			Nationwide referendum (58.04%)
Spain	July 2005	Marriage	Vetoed 5		183	136	Signed	Yes
Canada	July 2005	Marriage	47	21	158	133	Signed	Yes
Slovenia	July 2005	Partnership	N/A4		44	3	Signed	Yes
Croatia	October 2005	Registered partnership	N/A		Failed		—	No
Czech Republic	March 2006	Registered partnership	65	14	86	54	Vetoed 6	Yes
Belgium	May 2006	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	34	33	77	62	Signed	Yes
Spain	May 2006	Marriage (expansion: lesbian parenthood equality)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Denmark	June 2006	Registered partnership (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes2
Iceland	June 2006	Confirmed cohabitation (expansion)	N/A		41	0	Signed	Yes2
France	June 2006	Civil solidarity pact (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Finland	October 2006	Registered partnership (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
South Africa	November 2006	Marriage and civil partnership	36	11	230	41	Signed	Yes
Portugal	December 2006	De facto union (expansion: immigration rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Colombia	June 2007	Civil union	29	34	62	43	—	No
Hungary	December 2007	Registered partnership	N/A		185	154	Signed	No7
Uruguay	December 2007	Cohabitation union	17	5	Passed		Signed	Yes
Iceland	May 2008	Confirmed cohabitation (expansion)	N/A		54	0	Signed	Yes2
Norway	June 2008	Marriage	23	17	84	41	Signed	Yes
Ecuador	September 2008	De facto union	Constitutional referendum (63.93%)					Yes
Portugal	October 2008	Marriage	N/A		Failed		—	No
Portugal	October 2008	Marriage	N/A		Failed		—	No
United Kingdom	November 2008	Civil partnership (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Australia	November 2008	De facto relationship	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Sweden	April 2009	Marriage	N/A		261	22	N/A1	Yes
Hungary	April 2009	Registered partnership	N/A		199	159	Signed	Yes
France	May 2009	Recognition of unions performed abroad as PACS	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Finland	May 2009	Registered partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		108	29	Signed	Yes
Denmark	June 2009	Registered partnership (expansion)	N/A		107	2	Signed	Yes2
Portugal	August 2009	De facto union (expansion: inheritance rights)	N/A		Passed		Vetoed	No
Uruguay	September 2009	Cohabitation union (expansion: adoption rights)	17	6	40	13	Signed	Yes
Austria	December 2009	Registered partnership	44	8	110	64	Signed	Yes
Portugal	January 2010	Marriage	N/A		Failed		—	No
Portugal	January 2010	Marriage	N/A		Failed		—	No
Portugal	January 2010	Registered civil union	N/A		Failed		—	No
Australia	February 2010	Marriage	5	45	—	—	—	No
Portugal	May 2010	Marriage	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Denmark	May 2010	Registered partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		60	54	Signed	Yes2
Denmark	June 2010	Marriage	N/A		52	57	—	No
Iceland	June 2010	Marriage	N/A		49	0	Signed	Yes
Ireland	July 2010	Civil partnership and unregistered cohabitation	48	4	Passed		Signed	Yes
Argentina	July 2010	Marriage	33	27	125	109	Signed	Yes
Luxembourg	August 2010	Partnership (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Portugal	August 2010	De facto union (expansion: inheritance rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Germany	September 2010	Marriage	Failed		—		—	No
Germany	October 2010	Registered life partnership (expansion: tax law)	—		Failed		—	No
Germany	April 2011	Registered life partnership (expansion: tax law and adoption rights)	Failed		—		—	No
Liechtenstein	June 2011	Registered partnership	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
			Nationwide referendum (68.76%)
France	June 2011	Marriage	—	—	222	293	—	No
Germany	June 2011	Registered life partnership (expansion: tax law)	Failed		—		—	No
Portugal	February 2012	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Failed		—	No
Portugal	February 2012	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Failed		—	No
Slovenia	March 2012	Partnership (expansion)	Nationwide referendum (45.36%)					No
Israel	May 2012	Marriage	N/A		11	39	—	No
Denmark	June 2012	Marriage	N/A		85	24	Signed	Yes
Germany	June 2012	Marriage	—	—	260	309	—	No
San Marino	June 2012	Unregistered cohabitation (only one entitlement)	N/A		33	20	Signed	Yes
Australia	September 2012	Marriage	—	—	42	98	—	No
Australia	September 2012	Marriage	26	41	—	—	—	No
Germany	October 2012	Registered life partnership (expansion: tax law)	—	—	253	288	—	No
Slovakia	November 2012	Registered partnership	N/A		14	94	—	No
Poland	January 2013	Registered partnership	—	—	Failed		—	No
Poland	January 2013	Registered partnership	—	—	Failed		—	No
Poland	January 2013	Registered partnership	—	—	Failed		—	No
Poland	January 2013	Registered partnership	—	—	Failed		—	No
Poland	January 2013	Partnership agreement	—	—	Failed		—	No
Germany	March 2013	Registered life partnership (expansion: tax law)	Passed		—	—	—	No
Germany	March 2013	Marriage	Passed		—	—	—	No
New Zealand	April 2013	Marriage	N/A		77	44	Signed	Yes
Colombia	April 2013	Marriage	17	51	—	—	—	No
Uruguay	May 2013	Marriage	23	8	71	21	Signed	Yes
Portugal	May 2013	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		77	104	—	No
Portugal	May 2013	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Failed		—	No
Portugal	May 2013	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Failed		—	No
France	May 2013	Marriage	171	165	331	225	Signed	Yes
Australia	June 2013	Recognition of marriage performed abroad	28	44	—	—	—	No
Germany	July 2013	Registered life partnership (expansion: tax law)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
United Kingdom (England and Wales)	July 2013	Marriage	Passed		366	161	Signed	Yes
Austria	July 2013	Registered partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	45	8	Passed		Signed	Yes
Netherlands	December 2013	Marriage (expansion: lesbian parenthood equality)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Portugal	March 2014	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		107	112	—	No
Malta	April 2014	Civil union	N/A		37	0	Signed	Yes
Belgium	May 2014	Marriage (expansion: lesbian parenthood equality)	48	2	114	10	Signed	Yes
Germany	May 2014	Registered life partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	—	—	111	432	—	No
Andorra	May 2014	Marriage	N/A		6	21	—	No
Germany	June 2014	Registered life partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Romania	June 2014	Civil partnership	2	110	4	298	—	No
Luxembourg	June 2014	Marriage	N/A		56	4	N/A8	Yes
Croatia	July 2014	Life partnership	N/A		89	16	N/A9	Yes
Germany	July 2014	Registered life partnership (expansion: tax law)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
San Marino	September 2014	Recognition of marriage performed abroad	N/A		15	35	—	No
Argentina	October 2014	Cohabitation union	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Andorra	December 2014	Civil union	N/A		20	3	Signed	Yes
Portugal	January 2015	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		89	119	—	No
Portugal	January 2015	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		91	119	—	No
Portugal	January 2015	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		91	120	—	No
Portugal	January 2015	Marriage (expansion: medically assisted reproduction)	N/A		Failed		—	No
Ireland	April 2015	Civil partnership and unregistered cohabitation (expansion: adoption rights)	20	2	Passed		Signed	Yes
Chile	April 2015	Civil union agreement	25	6	78	9	Signed	Yes
Ecuador	June 2015	De facto union (expansion)	N/A		89	1	Signed	Yes
Israel	July 2015	Civil union	N/A		39	50	—	No
Ireland	August 2015	Marriage (constitutional amendment)	29	3	Passed		Signed	Yes
			Constitutional referendum (62.07%)
	October 2015	Marriage (statutory legislation)	Passed		Passed		Signed
Germany	November 2015	Registered life partnership (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Cyprus	December 2015	Civil cohabitation	N/A		39	12	Signed	Yes
Romania	December 2015	Civil partnership	8	49	Failed		—	No
Slovenia	December 2015	Marriage	N/A4		51	28	—	No
			National referendum (36.53%)
Greece	December 2015	Cohabitation agreement	N/A		194	55	Signed	Yes
Portugal	February 2016	Marriage and de facto union (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Vetoed 6	Yes
Luxembourg	April 2016	Recognition of marriage performed abroad before 1 January 2015	N/A		50	3	N/A8	Yes
Slovenia	April 2016	Partnership (expansion)	N/A		54	15	N/A9	Yes
Italy	May 2016	Civil union and cohabitation agreement	173	71	372	51	Signed	Yes
Portugal	May 2016	Marriage and de facto union (expansion: medically assisted reproduction)	N/A		Passed		Pending
Finland	February 2015	Marriage (framework law)	N/A		101	90	Signed	Yes
	April 2016	Marriage (implementation laws)	N/A		106	42	Signed	Yes
	2016		N/A		Proposed
Estonia	October 2014	Cohabitation agreement (framework law)	N/A		40	38	Signed	Yes
	June 2016	Cohabitation agreement (implementation law)	N/A		Pending
Switzerland	June 2016	Registered partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	25	14	113	64	Pending
Switzerland	June 2016	Registered partnership (expansion: immigration rights)	Pending		122	62
Austria	Unknown	Marriage			Pending
Austria	Unknown	Registered partnership (expansion)			Proposed
Bolivia	Unknown	Family life agreement			Pending
Chile	Unknown	Civil union agreement (expansion: adoption rights)			Pending
Chile	Unknown	Marriage	Pending
Costa Rica	Unknown	De facto union	N/A		Pending
Costa Rica	Unknown	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Czech Republic	Unknown	Registered partnership (expansion)			Pending
Germany	Unknown	Marriage	Passed		Pending
Israel	Unknown	Coupling contract	N/A		Pending
Italy	Unknown	Civil union and cohabitation agreement (expansion: adoption rights)	Proposed
Liechtenstein	Unknown	Registered partnership (expansion)	N/A		Proposed
Lithuania	Unknown	Partnership	N/A		Pending
Malta	Unknown	Civil union (expansion: in vitro fertilisation)	N/A		Proposed
Malta	Unknown	Cohabitation	N/A		Proposed
Mexico	Unknown	Marriage			Pending
Monaco	Unknown	Cohabitation agreement	N/A		Pending
Peru	Unknown	Solidarity union	N/A		Pending
Philippines	Unknown	Marriage			Proposed
San Marino	Unknown	Partnership	N/A		Proposed
Switzerland	Unknown	Marriage			Pending
Taiwan	Unknown	Marriage	N/A		Proposed
Thailand	Unknown	Civil partnership	N/A		Proposed

Notes:
¹According to the 1974 Constitution, the King of Sweden is head of state but does not sign or veto any laws enacted by Parliament.
²Replaced by the gender-neutral marriage law.
³Only one of the two Co-Princes of Andorra signed the law.
⁴The Slovenian Parliament is incompletely bicameral.
⁵The Spanish Senate voted 131 "yes" to 119 "no" to veto the law. The veto was later overridden by the Spanish Congress of Deputies.
⁶Veto overridden.
⁷Ruled unconstitutional.
⁸Since the 2008 constitutional change, the assent of the Grand Duke of Luxembourg is not required for the enactment of laws adopted by the Parliament.
⁹The President merely promulgates the laws adopted by the Parliament.

Sub-national level

For status in U.S. states, see Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States

In countries with a federal system of governance, states and territories often may grant recognition to same-sex couples in their own jurisdictions, although unitary states with a level of devolution, such as Spain or the United Kingdom, also offer such legalities to local authorities. The first jurisdiction to enact unregistered cohabitation was British Columbia in Canada in July 1992. The first jurisdiction to legalize registered partnership was Greenland as part of the Kingdom of Denmark in April 1996. Finally, the first jurisdiction to legalize same-sex marriage was the Canadian province of Ontario in June 2003.

As of May 2016, there are twenty-six jurisdictions worldwide have legalized some kind of alternative form of legal union of same-sex couples other than marriage. Those are five Australian states (New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria), one Australian territory (the Australian Capital Territory), three Mexican states (Campeche, Colima and Michoacán), a constituent country of the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland), all the special municipalities of Taiwan (Kaoshiung, New Taipei, Taichung, Tainan, Taipei and Taoyuan), the Taiwanese provincial city of Chiayi, three counties of Taiwan (Changhua, Hsinchu and Yilan County), two special wards of Tokyo (Shibuya and Setagaya), one special city of Japan (Takarazuka), one city of Japan (Iga), the British Crown dependencies of Jersey and the Isle of Man, and the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar.

As of May 2016, legislation to allow or expand any kind of alternative form of legal recognition of same-sex couples other than marriage have been proposed, is pending, or have passed at least one legislative house in the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda, the Chinese autonomous territory of Hong Kong and Aruba, a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

For the time being, forty-three jurisdictions worldwide have legalized same-sex marriage. Those are:

• Twenty-seven Native American tribes, namely the Blackfeet Nation, the Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon, the Coquille Indian Tribe, the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes, the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation, the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa, the Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, the Northern Arapaho Tribe, the Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, the San Carlos Apache Tribe and the Suquamish Tribe.
• Ten Mexican states, namely Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Nayarit and Quintana Roo, and the Mexican Federal District of Mexico City.
• As well as England, Wales and Scotland, three constituent countries of the United Kingdom, and the British Overseas Territory of the Pitcairn Islands.
• Greenland, an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark.

As of May 2016, legislation to allow same sex marriage have been proposed, is pending, or have passed at least one legislative house in the Mexican states of Aguascalientes, Baja California, Baja California Sur, Durango, Guanajuato, Jalisco, México (state), Morelos, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Tlaxcala, Yucatán and Zacatecas, the Mexican city of Tijuana, the Danish constituent country of the Faroe Islands, as well as the British Crown dependencies of Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man, Aruba, and the British Overseas Territories of Bermuda, Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands.

State/Territory	Country	Date	Same-sex union	Upper House		Lower house		Head of State	Law enacted?
				Yes	No	Yes	No
British Columbia	Canada	July 1992	Marriage-like relationship	N/A		30	17	Signed	Yes
British Columbia	Canada	July 1993	Marriage-like relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
British Columbia	Canada	July 1993	Marriage-like relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
British Columbia	Canada	July 1993	Marriage-like relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Australian Capital Territory	Australia	May 1994	Domestic relationship	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Ontario	Canada	June 1994	Domestic partnership	N/A		58	69	—	No
British Columbia	Canada	June 1995	Marriage-like relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
British Columbia	Canada	July 1995	Marriage-like relationship (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Greenland	Denmark	April 1996	Registered partnership	N/A		104	1	Signed	Yes
Ceuta	Spain	April 1997	De facto union	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
British Columbia	Canada	July 1997	Marriage-like relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Catalonia	Spain	June 1998	Stable couple union	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Yukon	Canada	December 1998	Unregistered cohabitation	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Aragon	Spain	March 1999	Stable non-married couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Yukon	Canada	April 1999	Unregistered cohabitation (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Alberta	Canada	May 1999	Unregistered cohabitation	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Quebec	Canada	May 1999	De facto union	N/A		80	0	Signed	Yes
New South Wales	Australia	June 1999	De facto relationship	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
British Columbia	Canada	July 1999	Marriage-like relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Ontario	Canada	October 1999	Conjugal relationship	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Navarre	Spain	July 2000	Stable couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Castile-La Mancha	Spain	July 2000	De facto couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
British Columbia	Canada	July 2000	Marriage-like relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Australian Capital Territory	Australia	August 2000	Domestic relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Nova Scotia	Canada	November 2000	Domestic partnership	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Newfoundland and Labrador	Canada	December 2000	Conjugal relationship	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Brunswick	Canada	December 2000	Family relationship	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Geneva	Switzerland	February 2001	Registered partnership	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Valencia	Spain	April 2001	De facto union	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Victoria	Australia	June 2001	Domestic relationship	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Manitoba	Canada	July 2001	Common-law relationship	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Saskatchewan	Canada	July 2001	Unregistered cohabitation	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Saskatchewan	Canada	July 2001	Unregistered cohabitation (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Victoria	Australia	November 2001	Domestic relationship (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Newfoundland and Labrador	Canada	December 2001	Conjugal relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Balearic Islands	Spain	December 2001	Stable couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Madrid	Spain	December 2001	De facto union	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Newfoundland and Labrador	Canada	April 2002	Conjugal relationship (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Western Australia	Australia	April 2002	De facto relationship	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Yukon	Canada	May 2002	Unregistered cohabitation (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Asturias	Spain	May 2002	Stable couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Northwest Territories	Canada	June 2002	Unregistered cohabitation	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Quebec	Canada	June 2002	Civil union	N/A		87	0	Signed	Yes
Manitoba	Canada	August 2002	Common-law relationship (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Manitoba	Canada	August 2002	Common-law relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Zurich	Switzerland	September 2002	Registered partnership	Cantonal referendum (62.70%)					Yes
New South Wales	Australia	October 2002	De facto relationship (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Castile and León	Spain	October 2002	De facto union	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Alberta	Canada	December 2002	Adult interdependent relationship	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Queensland	Australia	December 2002	De facto relationship	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Andalusia	Spain	December 2002	De facto couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Prince Edward Island	Canada	December 2002	Unregistered cohabitation	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Buenos Aires	Argentina	January 2003	Civil union	N/A		29	10	Signed	Yes
Canary Islands	Spain	March 2003	De facto couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Extremadura	Spain	March 2003	De facto couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Basque Country	Spain	May 2003	De facto couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Rio Negro	Argentina	May 2003	Civil union	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
South Australia	Australia	June 2003	Unregistered cohabitation	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Tasmania	Australia	September 2003	Significant relationship and caring relationship	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Australian Capital Territory	Australia	January 2004	Domestic relationship (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Neuchâtel	Switzerland	January 2004	Registered partnership	N/A		65	38	Signed	Yes
Northern Territory	Australia	January 2004	De facto Relationship	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Aragon	Spain	May 2004	Stable non-married couple (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Fribourg	Switzerland	May 2004	Registered partnership	Cantonal referendum (58.03%)					Yes
City of Sydney	Australia	July 2004	Relationship declaration program	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Quebec	Canada	November 2004	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Ontario	Canada	March 2005	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Northwest Territories	Canada	March 2005	Unregistered cohabitation (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Catalonia	Spain	April 2005	Stable couple union (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Cantabria	Spain	May 2005	De facto couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Basque Country	Spain	October 2005	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Isle of Man	United Kingdom	November 2005	Recognition of civil partnership performed in the United Kingdom	N/A		Passed		N/A	Yes
Norfolk Island	Australia	February 2006	Unregistered cohabitation	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Australian Capital Territory	Australia	June 2006	Civil union	N/A		Passed		Signed	No1
Mexico City	Mexico	November 2006	Coexistence partnership	N/A		43	17	Signed	Yes
Balearic Islands	Spain	November 2006	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
South Australia	Australia	December 2006	Domestic partnership agreement	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Coahuila	Mexico	January 2007	Civil pact of solidarity	N/A		20	13	Signed	Yes
Scotland	United Kingdom	January 2007	Civil partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Australian Capital Territory	Australia	February 2007	Civil partnership	N/A		Passed		Signed	No1
Madrid	Spain	February 2007	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Alberta	Canada	February 2007	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Murcia	Spain	March 2007	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Brunswick	Canada	March 2007	Marriage (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Valencia	Spain	March 2007	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Asturias	Spain	March 2007	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
City of Melbourne	Australia	April 2007	Relationship declaration program	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
City of Yarra	Australia	May 2007	Relationship declaration program	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Galicia	Spain	June 2007	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Villa Carlos Paz	Argentina	November 2007	Civil union	N/A		12	6	Signed	Yes
New South Wales	Australia	November 2007	De facto relationship (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Galicia	Spain	December 2007	De facto couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Melilla	Spain	January 2008	De facto couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Victoria	Australia	April 2008	Registered domestic relationship	29	10	54	24	Signed	Yes
Australian Capital Territory	Australia	May 2008	Civil partnership	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Prince Edward Island	Canada	May 2008	Marriage (codification and expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New South Wales	Australia	June 2008	De facto relationship (expansion)	Passed		64	11	Signed	Yes
Manitoba	Canada	October 2008	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Victoria	Australia	December 2008	Registered domestic relationship (expansion)	Passed		47	34	Signed	Yes
New Brunswick	Canada	December 2008	Marriage (codification) and family relationship (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Andalusia	Spain	February 2009	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Río Cuarto	Argentina	May 2009	Civil union	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Greenland	Denmark	May 2009	Registered partnership (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Caledonia	France	May 2009	Civil solidarity pact and concubinage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Wallis and Futuna	France	May 2009	Civil solidarity pact and concubinage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Newfoundland and Labrador	Canada	May 2009	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Scotland	United Kingdom	June 2009	Civil partnership (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Tasmania	Australia	September 2009	Significant relationship (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Australian Capital Territory	Australia	November 2009	Civil partnership (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Newfoundland and Labrador	Canada	December 2009	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Mexico City	Mexico	December 2009	Marriage	N/A		39	20	Signed	Yes
Queensland	Australia	February 2010	De facto relationship (expansion)	N/A		45	36	Signed	Yes
City of Blue Mountains	Australia	March 2010	Relationship declaration program	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New South Wales	Australia	May 2010	Registered relationship	32	5	62	9	Signed	Yes
La Rioja	Spain	May 2010	De facto couple	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Vienna	Austria	June 2010	Registered partnership (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Catalonia	Spain	July 2010	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Castile and León	Spain	August 2010	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New South Wales	Australia	September 2010	Registered relationship (expansion: adoption rights)	22	15	45	43	Signed	Yes
Tasmania	Australia	October 2010	Out-of-state unions as significant relationship	Passed		22	3	Signed	Yes
New South Wales	Australia	November 2010	Registered relationship (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Caribbean Netherlands	Netherlands	December 2010	Recognition of unions performed aboard	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Castilla-La Mancha	Spain	December 2010	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Isle of Man	United Kingdom	March 2011	Civil partnership	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Aragon	Spain	March 2011	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
South Australia	Australia	June 2011	Domestic partnership agreement (expansion)	14	5	24	15	Signed	Yes
South Australia	Australia	July 2011	Domestic partnership agreement (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Nunavut	Canada	October 2011	Marriage (codification and expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
British Columbia	Canada	November 2011	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Queensland	Australia	December 2011	Civil partnership	N/A		47	40	Signed	Yes2
Guernsey	United Kingdom	December 2011	Recognition of civil partnership performed in the United Kingdom	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Jersey	United Kingdom	December 2011	Civil partnership	N/A		33	0	Signed	Yes
Navarre	Spain	January 2012	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Cantabria	Spain	May 2012	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Queensland	Australia	June 2012	Registered relationship	N/A		69	8	Signed	Yes3
Canary Islands	Spain	June 2012	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Australian Capital Territory	Australia	September 2012	Civil union	N/A		11	6	Signed	Yes
Tasmania	Australia	September 2012	Marriage	6	8	13	11	—	No
Caribbean Netherlands	Netherlands	October 2012	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Tasmania	Australia	October 2012	Significant relationship (expansion)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
City of Vincent	Australia	December 2012	Relationship declaration program	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
La Rioja	Spain	March 2013	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Macau	China	March 2013	Civil union	N/A		Failed		—	No
South Australia	Australia	July 2013	Marriage	—	—	Failed		—	No
Tasmania	Australia	July 2013	Significant relationship (expansion: adoption rights)	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Extremadura	Spain	August 2013	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Colima	Mexico	July 2013	Civil union	N/A		17	2	N/A	Yes
		August 2013		N/A		Passed		Signed
Tasmania	Australia	October 2013	Marriage	6	8	—	—	—	No
Australian Capital Territory	Australia	October 2013	Marriage	N/A		9	8	Signed	No4
Jalisco	Mexico	October 2013	Civil union	N/A		20	15	Signed	Yes
New South Wales	Australia	November 2013	Marriage	19	21	—	—	—	No
Campeche	Mexico	December 2013	Civil union	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Coahuila	Mexico	February 2014	Civil pact of solidarity (expansion: adoption rights)	N/A		23	2	Signed	Yes
Scotland	United Kingdom	March 2014	Marriage	N/A		105	18	Signed	Yes
Faroe Islands	Denmark	March 2014	Marriage	N/A		11	20	—	No
Gibraltar	United Kingdom	March 2014	Civil partnership	N/A		16	0	Signed	Yes
Durango	Mexico	April 2014	Marriage	N/A		Failed		—	No
Alberta	Canada	May 2014	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Coahuila	Mexico	September 2014	Marriage	N/A		19	1	Signed	Yes
New South Wales	Australia	November 2014	Out-of-state unions as registered relationship	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Yukon	Canada	December 2014	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Shibuya	Japan	March 2015	Partnership certificate	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Kaohsiung	Taiwan	May 2015	Registered partnership	N/A		N/A		Signed	Yes
Pitcairn Islands	United Kingdom	May 2015	Marriage	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Taipei	Taiwan	June 2015	Registered partnership	N/A		N/A		Signed	Yes
Taichung	Taiwan	July 2015	Registered partnership	N/A		N/A		Signed	Yes
Setagaya	Japan	July 2015	Partnership certificate	N/A		N/A		Signed	Yes
Town of Port Hedland	Australia	August 2015	Relationship declaration program	N/A		6	2	Signed	Yes
Michoacán	Mexico	September 2015	Domestic partnership	N/A		34	0	Signed	Yes
Alderney	United Kingdom	November 2015	Recognition of marriage and civil partnership performed abroad	N/A		10	0	Signed	Yes
Takarazuka	Japan	November 2015	Partnership certificate	N/A		N/A		Signed	Yes
Guernsey	United Kingdom	December 2015	Recognition of marriage performed abroad	N/A		Passed		N/A5	Yes
Victoria	Australia	December 2015	Registered domestic relationship and domestic relationship (expansion: adoption rights)	31	8	Passed		Signed	Yes
Queensland	Australia	December 2015	Civil partnership	N/A		64	22	Signed	Yes
Iga	Japan	December 2015	Partnership certificate	N/A		N/A		Signed	Yes
Nayarit	Mexico	December 2015	Marriage and concubinage	N/A		26	1	Signed	Yes
Tainan	Taiwan	January 2016	Registered partnership	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
New Taipei	Taiwan	January 2016	Registered partnership	N/A		N/A		Signed	Yes
Greenland	Denmark	May 2015	Inatsisartut: Marriage (resolution)	N/A		27	0	N/A	Yes
		February 2016	Folketing: Marriage (statutory law)	N/A		108	0	Signed
Victoria	Australia	February 2016	Out-of-state union as registered domestic relationship	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Naha	Japan	February 2016	Partnership certificate	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Chiayi	Taiwan	February 2016	Registered partnership	N/A		N/A		Signed	Yes
Azuay	Ecuador	March 2016	Registered symbolic marriage	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Taoyuan	Taiwan	March 2016	Registered partnership	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Changhua County	Taiwan	March 2016	Registered partnership	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Hsinchu County	Taiwan	April 2016	Registered partnership	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Campeche	Mexico	May 2016	Marriage	N/A		34	1	Signed	Yes
Guernsey	United Kingdom	May 2016	Recognition of marriage and civil partnership performed abroad (expansion)	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Isle of Man	United Kingdom	June 2016	Marriage	6	3	17	3	Pending
South Australia	Australia	June 2016	Domestic partnership agreement (expansion)	Pending		29	12
Chiapas	Mexico	June 2016	Marriage	N/A		33	0
Colima	Mexico	June 2016	Marriage	N/A		24	0
Michoacán	Mexico	June 2016	Marriage and concubinage	N/A		27	0
Morelos	Mexico	June 2016	Marriage	N/A		20	6
Tabasco	Mexico	June 2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
México	Mexico	June 2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Hong Kong	China	June 2016	Civil union (consultation)	N/A		Pending
Faroe Islands	Denmark	April 2016	Løgting: Marriage (resolution)	N/A		19	14	N/A
		2016	Folketing: Marriage (statutory law)	N/A
Guernsey	United Kingdom	December 2015	Marriage (agreement in principle)	N/A		37	7	N/A
		2016	Marriage (statutory legislation)	N/A		Proposed
Jersey	United Kingdom	September 2015	Marriage (agreement in principle)	N/A		37	4	N/A
		2016	Marriage (statutory legislation)	N/A		Proposed
Aguascalientes	Mexico	2016	Marriage and civil union	N/A		Pending
Aruba	Netherlands	2016	Marriage and registered partnership	N/A		Pending
Baja California	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Baja California Sur	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Proposed
Bermuda	United Kingdom	2016	Marriage and civil union			Proposed
Chihuahua	Mexico	2016	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Pending
Durango	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Falkland Islands	United Kingdom	2016	Marriage	N/A		Proposed
Gibraltar	United Kingdom	2016	Marriage	N/A		Proposed
Guanajuato	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Guerrero	Mexico	2016	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Pending
Jalisco	Mexico	2016	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Pending
Nuevo León	Mexico	2016	Marriage and civil union	N/A		Pending
Oaxaca	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Proposed
Puebla	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Querétaro	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Quintana Roo	Mexico	2016	Marriage (codification)	N/A		Pending
San Luis Potosí	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Sinaloa	Mexico	2016	Marriage and concubinage	N/A		Pending
South Australia	Australia	2016	Out-of-state unions as domestic partnership agreement			Pending
Tamaulipas	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Tijuana	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Tlaxcala	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Yucatán	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Zacatecas	Mexico	2016	Marriage	N/A		Proposed

Note:
¹Legislation overturned by the federal government.
²Replaced with registered relationship on 27 June 2012.
³Replaced with civil partnership in December 2015.
⁴Legislation overturned by the High Court on 12 December 2013.
⁵Ordinances and regulations do not require royal assent.

Constitutional efforts to prohibit same-sex unions

Sometimes unintentionally but usually in response to legislation providing for marriage or other rights to same-sex couples, thirty countries, two Mexican states and three British Overseas Territories have passed constitutional amendments banning a variety of same-sex unions. These amendments have taken several forms. Some are limited to banning only marriage. Others ban marriage and prohibit legislation providing "similar rights". Some prohibit government from authorizing any form of same-sex union, while others invalidate existing and future private contracts, including wills, for same-sex couples. Fourteen of the countries with constitutional amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage passed them via constitutional referendum, with the amendment being, most of the times, one of many within a proposed constitution submitted to the people by the government.

National level

Cuba was the first country to prohibit same-sex marriage in February 1976. Paraguay and Bolivia are the only cases that not only marriage is prohibited but also any other equivalent/similar union. Venezuela has a ban on de facto unions but not marriage. In February 2008, Venezuela became the first country to repeal a same-sex marriage ban, followed by Cambodia and Vietnam in 2011 and November 2013, respectively. Legislative attempts to ban same-sex marriage in El Salvador and the United States have failed twice.

Currently, twenty-seven countries prohibit same-sex marriage on a national level. Those are Armenia, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Croatia, Cuba, the DR Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Honduras, Hungary, Kenya, Latvia, Moldova, Montenegro, Palau, Paraguay, Poland, Rwanda, Serbia, Slovakia, South Sudan, Uganda, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.

As of March 2016, legislation to ban same sex marriage has been proposed, is pending, or has passed at least one legislative house on a national level in El Salvador, Georgia, Russia and Macedonia.

Country	Date	Ban on	Upper house		Lower house		Head of state	Final outcome
			Yes	No	Yes	No
Cuba	February 1976	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (97.7%)					Yes
Burkina Faso	June 1991	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (92.83%)					Yes
Bulgaria	July 1991	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Vietnam	April 1992	Marriage	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes1
Paraguay	June 1992	Marriage and de facto union	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Cambodia	September 1993	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes2
Moldova	July 1994	Marriage	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Ukraine	June 1996	Marriage	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Poland	April 1997	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (52.71%)					Yes
Venezuela	December 1999	Marriage and de facto union	Constitutional referendum (71.78%)					Yes3
Rwanda	May 2003	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (93.42%)					Yes
United States	July 2004	Marriage	48	50	227	186	—	No
Burundi	February 2005	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (92.02%)					Yes
Honduras	March 2005	Marriage	N/A		128	0	Signed	Yes
Uganda	September 2005	Marriage	N/A		111	17	Signed	Yes
Latvia	December 2005	Marriage	N/A		65	5	Signed	Yes
DR Congo	December 2005	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (84.31%)					Yes
United States	July 2006	Marriage	49	48	236	187	—	No
Serbia	October 2006	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (53.04%)					Yes
Montenegro	October 2007	Marriage	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Ecuador	September 2008	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (63.93%)					Yes
Palau	November 2008	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (83.56%)					Yes
Bolivia	January 2009	Marriage and free union	Constitutional referendum (61.43%)					Yes
El Salvador	October 2009	Marriage	N/A		46	38	—	No4
Dominican Republic	January 2010	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Kenya	August 2010	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (68.55%)					Yes
Zambia	March 2011	Marriage	N/A		Failed		—	No
Hungary	April 2011	Marriage	N/A		262	44	Signed	Yes
South Sudan	July 2011	Marriage	Passed		Passed		Signed	Yes
Liberia	June 2012	Marriage	Passed		Failed		—	No
Zimbabwe	March 2013	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (94.49%)					Yes
Macedonia	September 2013	Marriage	N/A		Failed		—	No
Croatia	December 2013	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (65.87%)					Yes
El Salvador	February 2014	Marriage	N/A		Failed		—	No
Slovakia	June 2014	Marriage	N/A		102	18	N/A	Yes
Slovakia	February 2015	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (94.50%)					No5
Armenia	December 2015	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (63.37%)					Yes
Central African Republic	December 2015	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (93.00%)					Yes
Switzerland	February 2016	Marriage	Constitutional referendum (49.16%)					No
El Salvador	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending6
Georgia	2016	Marriage	N/A		Proposed
Macedonia	2016	Marriage	N/A		Pending
Russia	2016	Marriage			Proposed

Note:
¹Repealed on 1 January 2014, as the 1992 constitution was replaced by the new one, which does not contain a definition of marriage.
²Repealed in 2011.
³Struck down by the Supreme Tribunal of Justice in February 2008 and replaced with a gender-neutral wording. Constitutional ban on same-sex de facto unions remains in place.
⁴The amendment was initially passed in April 2009 but was rejected in a second vote in October 2009.
⁵Although the amendment received 94.5% of the vote, turnout was only at 21.4%. For referendums in Slovakia to pass, turnout has to surpass 50% of registered voters.
⁶Passed first reading, awaits second vote.

Sub-national level

The first jurisdiction to explicitly ban same-sex marriage was the U.S. state of Alaska in November 1998, however same-sex marriage was legalised in the state in October 2014. The first jurisdiction to enact such a ban and still has it enforced are the Cayman Islands, which are a British Overseas Territory, in June 2009. The first jurisdiction to repeal a ban on same sex marriage was the US state of California in August 2010, but the ruling went into effect June 2013.

Currently, four jurisdictions worldwide have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage. Those are three British Overseas Territories, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Mexican state of Yucatán.

State/Territory	Country	Date	Ban on	Upper House		Lower house		Head of state	Final outcome
				Yes	No	Yes	No
Cayman Islands	United Kingdom	June 2009	Marriage	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Yucatán	Mexico	July 2009	Marriage	N/A		Passed		N/A	Yes
Montserrat	United Kingdom	October 2010	Marriage	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Turks and Caicos Islands	United Kingdom	July 2011	Marriage	N/A		Passed		Signed	Yes
Colima	Mexico	July 2013	Marriage	N/A		17	2	N/A	Yes1

Note:
¹ Repealed in May 2016.

See also

• LGBT rights by country or territory
• Same-sex union court cases
• Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States