Where Europe stands on gay marriage and civil unns | Pew Rearch Center

Contents:

• WHERE EUROPE STANDS ON GAY MARRIAGE AND CIVIL UNNS
• EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS

WHERE EUROPE STANDS ON GAY MARRIAGE AND CIVIL UNNS

More than 18 years after the Netherlands beme the world’s first untry to legalize same-sex marriage, Northern Ireland has bee the latt European jurisdictn to allow gays and lbians to marry. The Czech Republic is the only untry out of 19 surveyed Central and Eastern Europe where a majory of adults (65%) support gay marriage. Sce the first same-sex marriag took place the Netherlands 2001, more than 30 other jurisdictns have enacted laws allowg gays and lbians to marry, mostly Europe and the Ameris.

Ecuador 2019Lat Ameri-CaribbeanCourt lg ma Ecuador the fifth South Amerin untry to allow gays and lbians to wed. Netherlands2001EuropeFirst untry to legalize same-sex marriage after Parliament passed the law December Zealand 2013Asia-PacificFirst untry the Asia-Pacific regn to allow gays and lbians to 2009EuropeThe law replaced a 1993 statute permtg civil unns. Slovenia 2022EuropeFirst untry formerly munist Eastern Europe to legalize same-sex Ai 2006Sub-Saharan AiOnly Ain untry where same-sex marriage is legal; several untri on the ntent have passed laws that ban homosexualy recent 2005EuropeBeme the third untry globally to legalize same-sex marriage after a vote s closely divid 2009EuropeGay and lbian upl Swen prevly had been allowed to register for civil unns sce 1995.

1%) st ballots favor of legalizg same-sex marriage a 2021 2019Asia-PacificA urt lg prompted a change the law that ma Taiwan the first jurisdictn Asia to perm gays and lbians to Kgdom 2014EuropeLegal same-sex marriage took effect Northern Ireland 2020, six years after the change England and Wal. But the small hours of April 1, 2001, somethg unprecented happened after the stroke of midnight at Cy Hall, the mayor of Amsterdam married four upl, each of whom happened to be gay, as the Netherlands – havg passed the law the year before – beme the first untry the world to nduct same-sex marriag. Hungary’s hardle natnalist ernment passed a new law earlier this month banng ntent that “promot” homosexualy and genr change om beg shared wh children, effectively prohibg any discsn of LGBTQ them schools.

EASTERN EUROPE WAS ONCE A WORLD LEAR ON GAY RIGHTS. THEN RAN OUT OF SPEGOATS

In dog so, Orbán has followed the playbook of Poland’s ernment, which has been chippg away at the rights of the LGBTQ muny for a number of years, adoptg discrimatory rhetoric and stokg homophobia. “There’s a real regrsn happeng many different untri, and rights that had been regnized are now beg challenged, ” said Evelyne Paradis, the executive director of the European branch of the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn (ILGA-Europe). Orbán, like the ernment Poland and some other untri, is tryg to prent homophobic polici as a way of protectg natnal valu.

“It’s not about homosexuals, ’s about the kids and the parents, ” he told reporters, addg that he was a “eedom fighter” durg Hungary’s munist era. She add that the ia of natn is often closely associated wh a tradnal fay and genr rol – another way to “other” the gay muny.

“You have plac like Germany, France, Spa where 85% or more say that homosexualy should be accepted by society and then once you’re past the dividg le, on the other si of the former Iron Curta, those numbers beg to fall pretty rapidly and then get even lower as you go to Rsia, ” he said. “When you look at the former Eastern bloc, the untri had a long tradn of really progrsive legislatn towards LGBTQ rights, Poland for stance crimalized homosexualy 1932, which is really, really early, ” Kościańska said. Duds said Hungary, too, was once ahead of Wtern Europe, crimalizg homosexualy 1961, although the muny remaed largely visible.

Adam* said was dangero to e out as gay his home untry and feared beg forced to an arranged marriage wh a said he was "so lucky" to wed his soulmate, Ray, Manchter and wish everyone uld marry who they love.

There are more than 60 untri wh laws that crimalise same-sex sexual acts acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn, cludg Sdi Arabia.

'Authentilly myself'Ray said he had also stggled growg up gay the 1970s and 80s England, which was "tough" said his relig school "dmmed to you, 'you are gog to hell'" Adam returned home to Sdi Arabia, spe beg more than 3, 000 apart and later rtricted by the Covid-19 panmic, they kept touch daily and the romance years ago, Ray proposed on a vio ll and after succsfully applyg for a UK fiancé visa, Adam moved to Manchter December 2022. Adam said he had been aaid to even wear lours his home untry so the first thg he did when he moved was start to "grow my mullet, got my ears pierced and booked appotments for tattoos" relled how, ntrast, one of his gay iends Sdi had been forced to marry a woman, addg: "It has ed not only his life but the life of his wife. The uple, who live London, said a "really betiful memory" was on the way home when one of their sons shouted out of the black b wdow to Trafalgar Square, "My dads jt got married" and cheered "Yay, gay marriage".

- Europe, gay marriage pneers - On October 1, 1989, for the first time the world, several gay upl Denmark tied the knot civil unns, which while givg their relatnships a legal standg fell short of full was the Netherlands that first allowed gay marriag, givg more rights April then 16 European untri have followed su acceptg gay marriag: Atria, Belgium, Bra, Denmark, Fland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Portugal, Spa, Swen and most recently European untri allow only weaker civil partnerships for the LGBTQ muny -- cludg Croatia, Cyps, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy and Slovenia, which rejected gay marriag a 2015 referendum.