What are the countries where gay marriage is legal? The world is continuously evolving and while there were no countries allowing gay marriages just a few decades ago, there are now 21 countries where gay marriage is legal. People’s beliefs are changing and they are becoming more accepting on a global scale. Just 15 years ago gay marriage was considered to be absolutely -both morally and legally- wrong, but that is not the case anymore. It is an amazing thing, considering the number of gay people in the world, as evidenced in 10 Countries with the Biggest Gay Populations. This is evident from the fact that the United States Supreme Court recently legalized gay marriage as well. However, there is still a long way to go as most of the countries which have legalized gay marriages are located in either Europe or the Americas.
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The recent historic ruling led to us wondering whether the United States was the first country to legalize gay marriage. However, it’s not even close. In fact, it doesn’t even make the top 10! While there are 21 countries in the world where gay marriage is currently legal, we picked the first 11 countries which legalized gay marriage. Finland signed the law that legalized gay marriage this year but it takes effect in 2017. Ireland, Scotland, Luxembourg, Uruguay, New Zeland, France, England and Wales, and Brazil legalized same sex marriage in 2013 or later. Here are the 11 countries where gay marriage was legalized in 2012 or earlier:
11. Denmark
Month in which gay marriage was legalized: June 2012
There’s a reason Denmark is known as one of the happiest countries in the world and that is because of its progressive nature. Of course, this is hardly surprising from a country which legally recognized same sex couples via registered partnerships way back in 1989.
