European Countries Decriminalized Being Gay(32 Countries) [Is Your Country named Here?}

 

This picture touches me somehow. This is 2001 in the Netherlands which was the first one as the millennium began to not only decriminalize gays but allow them to be together under the law like all the other citizens.. I love the Netherlands! These people keep showing their intelligence compared to others in the world and the way they make out of things that everyone should know despite ancient religions and stupid dogmas which do not even agree with each other. It always takes a man anointed by a god to say some people that he made were a mistake and all those that prefer to act first and think later just do as instructed. For The longest time, the mistakes god made were sent back by death. Not by god but those that interpret what a god says without speaking. There have been exceptions in the modern world in which we can use science to guide us and if that is not enough common sense is something we possess. In this millennium the Netherlands has used both. I am also happy they are taking steps through NATO to protect themselves from the big bad bear on the East.
Adam Gonzalez, News Blogger

 

According to the report published in 2020 by the International Association of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex People, same-sex relationships are punishable by law in 69 out of 193 countries, and punishable by death in 11. country.

Currently, gay marriage is legal in 32 countries.

– A crime in Africa –

On a continent where some thirty countries prohibit homosexuality, South Africa is an exception: gay marriage has been legal there since 2006. Adoption, medically assisted procreation (PMA), and surrogacy ( GPA) are also allowed.

Same-sex relationships are punishable by death in Sudan, Somalia, and Mauritania. A few countries allow them or have decriminalized them (including Cape Verde, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Mozambique, DRC, Angola, Madagascar, Rwanda, Seychelles, and Botswana).

– Repression in the Middle East –

In the Middle East, Israel stands out for having legalized adoption for homosexual couples. In July 2021, the Supreme Court also authorized surrogacy for these same couples. Marriage between persons of the same sex is not authorized but recognized when contracted abroad.

Lebanon is also more tolerant in comparison with other Muslim countries where homosexuals face the death penalty, such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

– Developments in Asia –

In Asia, where India decriminalized homosexuality in 2018, Taiwan pioneered the continent by legalizing same-sex marriage in 2019.

In Thailand, the parliament paved the way for same-sex unions in June by adopting a text to this effect on the first reading.

– Europe: the pioneers –

All European countries have decriminalized homosexuality.

The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001. Since then, 17 European countries have followed suit: Belgium, Spain, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Denmark, France, United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Ireland, Finland, Malta, Germany, Austria, and, most recently (July 2022), Switzerland and Slovenia. 

States recognize civil union: Hungary, Czech Republic, Croatia, Cyprus, Italy, Greece, and Estonia, the first former Soviet republic to have authorized it, in 2014.

Most Eastern European countries do not allow civil unions or same-sex marriages.

In Russia, homosexuality was considered a crime until 1993 and a mental illness until 1999. Since 2013, a law also punishes with fines and imprisonment any act of “propaganda“homosexuality to minors.

In Hungary, discussing homosexuality in front of minors is also, since the summer of 2021, punishable by a fine.

In the west, several countries authorize joint adoption by same-sex couples within the framework of marriage or civil union, including the Netherlands (from 2001), Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, France, United Kingdom, Germany, Finland, Slovenia, Switzerland…

MAP is authorized for lesbian couples in 12 European countries: Nordic countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Spain, Austria, Ireland, and France.

Most European countries prohibit surrogacy. The use of surrogate mothers for male couples is sometimes authorized or tolerated, as long as they are not paid (Belgium, Netherlands, United Kingdom).

– Growing in the Americas –

Canada legalized same-sex marriage in 2005. Adoption, PMA, and GPA are also allowed.

In the United States, it was not until June 2015 that the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage throughout the country. 

In Latin America, several countries allow such unions: Argentina, a precursor in 2010, followed by Uruguay, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and Chile. This is also the case in 26 Mexican states as well as in Mexico City.

In Cuba, a referendum next September on a new family code could lead to the legalization of same-sex marriage.

In Oceania, same-sex marriage and adoption are permitted in New Zealand (2013) and Australia (2017).