The Freedom to Marry Internationally
Thirteen countries now have the freedom to marry for same-sex couples (Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina), while many more provide some protections for such couples. As more and more countries and parts of the United States win the freedom to marry, we see that families are helped, and communities and countries made stronger, by protecting all committed couples.
Learn More About International Progress Toward the Freedom to Marry
"The exclusion of same-sex couples from the benefits and responsibilities of marriage was not a small and tangential inconvenience resulting from a few surviving relics of societal prejudice destined to evaporate like the morning dew. It represented a harsh if oblique statement by the law that same-sex couples are outsiders, and that their need for affirmation and protection of their intimate relations as human beings is somehow less than that of heterosexual couples. It signifies that their capacity for love, commitment and accepting responsibility is by definition less worthy of regard than that of heterosexual couples. The intangible damage to same-sex couples is as severe as the material deprivation. They are not entitled to celebrate their commitment to each other in a joyous public event recognised by the law. They are obliged to live in a state of legal blankness in which their unions remain unmarked by the showering of presents and the commemoration of anniversaries so celebrated in our culture."
— South Africa Constitution Court Ruling for the freedom to marry, 12/1/2005
Blog Posts Related to International
Watch: new marriage video from Australia
Watch the amazing new marriage video from Australia's GetUp!.
WATCH: Rory’s Story
Freedom to Marry's partners Marriage Equality Ireland produced a touching a video demonstrating why civil partnerships are no substitute for marriage.
Married to an American, but Can’t Stay in America
A California man faces deportation because of the so-called "Defense of Marriage Act."
Resources Related to International
The World After Proposition 8: A Global Survey of the Right to Marry
An examination of the May 2008 and 2009 California Supreme Court decisions and a survey of the countries that presently allow marriage for same-sex couples.
Argentina: President defends marriage equality bill
A video of Argentina President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner defending a bill that would legalize the freedom to marry in her country.
Latin America’s Support for Same-Sex Marriage
A study from Americas Quarterly examines public opinion on the freedom to marry across several nations.