Same-Sex Marriage Views Around the World

As I have previously discussed, the Supreme Court of the United States refused to review rulings that overturned multiple state bans on same-sex marriage. There are countries throughout the world that have already resolved this legal issue and have come to accept same-sex marriage in their culture. Some are more recent, such as Britain where same-sex marriage has only been legal since March of this year, but civil partnerships had been recognized for years prior. Other countries have had a longer history of legal recognition of same-sex marriage, such as The Netherlands, which became the first country in the world in 2001.

However, the change in marriage laws did not create a completely sweeping change of mindsets, and same-sex couples still face challenges in these countries. In Britain, a same-sex couple reported that while they did not have any major problems with the process of obtaining a fiancée’s visa, the forms included the terms “bride” and “groom” rather than an option for two brides or grooms or a gender neutral term like “spouse.” Despite the Netherlands history making legalization over a decade ago, it can still be difficult for same-sex couples in some areas of the country to find a venue for their marriage, and not all areas have accepted the practice of same-sex marriage.