Marriage equality

English (en): Laws regarding same-sex sexuality

Homosexuality legal    Same-sex marriage1    Other type of partnership (or unregistered cohabitation)1    Foreign same-sex marriages recognized1    No recognition of same-sex couples Homosexuality illegal    Minimal penalty    Heavy penalty    Up to life in prison    Up to death (ring = local judges) Rings indicate areas where local judges have granted marriage or imposed the death penalty in a country where that is not otherwise the law. 1May include recent laws or court decisions which have created legal recognition of same-sex relationships, but which have not entered into effect yet

Marriage equality refers to the extension to same-sex couples of the ability to get married in the same way as opposite-sex couples. Full same-sex marriage has now been legally recognised in a number of coutnries around the world, and in some stattes of the USA. In the UK, demand for same-sex marriage was initially met by the introduciton of civil partnerships, which provide almost all of the rights and obligations of marriage. However some ifferences remain, which has led for the campaign to extend marriage as such to same-sex couples.

Civil partnerships

Civil partnerships were introduced by the Labour Government under the Civil Partnership Act 2004. The first civil partnerships were formed in December 2005.