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Same-sex marriage is available to same-sex couples in the Netherlands; Belgium; in all ten provinces and three territories in Canada; Spain, South Africa, and in the U.S. states of Massachusetts and California. Same-sex marriages in Europe and Massachusetts have residency requirements. |
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Civil unions are available to same-sex couples in Vermont and Connecticut. They are also available in many countries in Europe. |
Major developments: Years 2000 to 2004
| 2001-APR: Netherlands: Gay and lesbian couples who are Dutch can now marry and adopt with the full privileges enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. More details. |
| 2001-AUG-2: Germany: Gay and lesbian couples may register their partnerships, obtain the same inheritance rights as married couples, and may share the same last name. Some rights are still withheld. More details. |
| 2002-JUL: Ontario, Canada: Three Superior Court judges ruled unanimously that the laws of Ontario and of Canada which prohibit gay couples from marrying is unconstitutional. The court gave the governments two years to change the wording of their laws related to marriage. More details. |
| 2002-SEP: Switzerland: Same-sex couples can now register with the government and obtain all of the legal rights as opposite-sex married couples. |
| 2002-SEP: Quebec, Canada: A court declared that the denial of marriage to gays and lesbians is unconstitutional. |
| 2003-MAR-4: Massachusetts: The Supreme Judicial Court heard arguments in the case which seeks the expansion of marriage in the state to include same-sex couples. The ruling was made in favor of same-sex marriage in 2003-NOV. More details. |
| 2003-MAY-1: British Columbia, Canada: A court agreed with earlier decisions by senior courts in Ontario and Quebec. They gave the government until 2004-JUL-12 to rewrite the laws to allow same-sex marriage. More details. |
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2003-JUN-10 at 14:52 hrs ET: Canada: A gay couple, Michel Leshner, 55, and Michael Stark, 45, were married by an Ontario Superior Court judge in Toronto ON. This is the first time in the Western Hemisphere that a same-sex couple has been able to obtain a marriage license and be legally married. They are the first same-sex couple in the world to be married in this way as the result of a court ruling, rather than a legislative change. |
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2003-JUN-17: Canada: The Federal Government has decided to not appeal the JUN-10 decision of the Ontario Court of Appeal. They will be drafting legislation to be submitted to Parliament which will legalize same-sex marriage across Canada. This would make Canada the third country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage, the first two being the Netherlands and Belgium. More details about Canada. |
| 2003-JUN-29: Britain: The government has issued a report recommending that a system of civil unions be created. They have the agreement of all three major parties. More details. |
| 2003-JUL-8: Canada: The British Columbia Court of Appeal issued a supplementary ruling authorizing same-sex marriages in the province immediately. A gay couple, Tom Graff and Anthony Porcino, immediately obtained marriage licenses and were married that day by a United Church of Canada minister. More details |
| 2003-NOV-19: Massachusetts: The Supreme Judicial Court -- the state's supreme court -- issued a ruling in the case of Goodridge et al v. Department of Public Health. The court declared same-sex marriages legal, and ordered the state to start issuing licenses on 2004-MAR-17. This will make Massachusetts the first state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage. The Massachusetts Legislature has started the long process of amending the state constitution to identify same-sex couples as a group which is prohibited from marrying. More details. |
| 2004-MAR-19: Quebec, Canada: The Quebec Court of Appeal authorized SSM in the province. Over 80% of Canadian same-sex couples can now marry without leaving their province of residence. |
| 2004-DEC-31: Canada: 87% of the Canadian population live in one of the seven of ten provinces and one of three territories which have authorized same-sex marriage. |
| 2005-FEB-01: Canada: Bill C-38 was introduced in Parliament. If passed, it will legalize SSM across the entire country. |
| 2005-FEB-24: Ontario: The Ontario Legislature easily passed Bill 171 by a voice vote. It amended 73 pieces of existing legislation, replacing terms like "husband" and "wife" with gender-neutral terms like "spouse." |
| 2005-APR-20: Connecticut: Governor Rell (R) signed a bill into law which will make civil unions available to same-sex couples in the state starting on 2005-OCT-01. |
| 2008-MAY-14: California: The California Supreme Court overturned Proposition 22 as unconstitutional. It banned same-sex marriage in the state. The court ruled that marriage is available for same-sex and opposite-sex couples. |
Copyright © 2003 to 2008 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2008-MAY-14
Author: B.A. Robinson
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