Recognition of same-sex unions in North America

State recognition of same-sex relationships in North America & Hawaii.¹

  Same-sex marriage

  Other type of partnership

  Same-sex marriages recognized, but not performed

  Binding decision overturning a ban on same-sex marriage not in effect²

¹May include recent laws or court decisions which have created legal recognition of same-sex relationships, but which have not entered into effect yet.
²Some states in these categories also have a ban unions similar to marriage and binding judicial rulings against bans unions similar to marriage.

Homosexuality laws in Central America and the Caribbean Islands.

  Same-sex marriage

  Other type of partnership

  Unregistered cohabitation

  Foreign same-sex marriages recognized

  No recognition of same-sex couples

  Constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples

  Same-sex sexual activity illegal but not enforced

  Same-sex sexual activity illegal only for males

  Same-sex sexual activity illegal for males and females

Homosexuality legislation in Lesser Antilles.

  Same-sex marriage

  Same-sex marriage only recognized

  Other type of partnership

  Unrecognized or unknown

  Same-sex sexual activity illegal but not enforced

  Same-sex sexual activity illegal

Legal status of same-sex unions
Marriage Performed Argentina Belgium Brazil Canada Colombia Denmark: · Denmark proper · Greenland Finland* France Iceland Ireland Luxembourg Mexico: · CH, CA, GR^3, JA · NA, QR, CDMX Netherlands: · Netherlands proper New Zealand: · New Zealand proper Norway Portugal South Africa Spain Sweden United Kingdom: · England and Wales · Scotland · Pitcairn Islands United States: · United States proper · GU, MP, PR, VI · some tribal jurisdictions Uruguay Recognized Mexico^1 Netherlands: · AW, CW, SX^2 United Kingdom: · Guernsey* Civil unions and registered partnerships Andorra Australia: · ACT, NSW, QLD, · SA, TAS, VIC Austria Chile Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Ecuador Estonia Germany Greece Hungary Italy: · various jurisdictions Japan: · various jurisdictions Liechtenstein Malta Mexico: · CM, CL, MC* Slovenia Switzerland Taiwan: · KH, NT, TG, TN, TP, TY · CS, CG, HH United Kingdom: · Northern Ireland · Isle of Man · Jersey · Gibraltar Unregistered cohabitation Australia Costa Rica Israel San Marino See also Same-sex union legislation Same-sex union court cases Timeline of same-sex marriage Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe Recognition of same-sex unions in North America Recognition of same-sex unions in Oceania Recognition of same-sex unions in South America Marriage privatization Divorce of same-sex couples Domestic partnership Military policy Adoption Listings by country
When performed in Mexican states that have legalized same-sex marriage When performed in the Netherlands proper Marriages performed in some municipalities and recognized by the state * Not yet in effect
LGBT portal

Currently, Canada and the United States^{[nb 1]} are the only countries in North America that allow same-sex couples to marry everywhere within their boundaries. In Mexico, five Mexican states have legalized same-sex marriage (although such marriages are recognized throughout the 31 states of Mexico) as well as the Mexican federal district of Mexico City. Same-sex marriages are also performed in the Caribbean Netherlands and Greenland. Furthermore Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten, recognize same-sex marriages performed in the Netherlands. In addition, four Mexican states perform some sort of civil union and nineteen Mexican states have won injunctions to have individual couple's marriages performed under court order. After South America, North America is the only other continent where an overwhelming majority of people live in a jurisdiction providing marriage rights to LGBT citizens.

Current situation

National level

Status	Country	Legal since	Country population (Last Count, 2008 est.)
Marriage (2 countries)	Canada[1]	2005	35,819,000
	United States[2][3]	2015	321,234,000
Subtotal	—	—	357,053,000 (63.5% of the North American population)
Marriage recognized, but not performed (1 country)	Mexico[4]	2010	121,006,000
Subtotal	—	—	121,006,000 (21.5% of the North American population)
Unregistered cohabitation (1 country)	Costa Rica[5][6]	2013	4,851,000
Subtotal	—	—	4,851,000 (0.86% of the North American population)
Total	—	—	482,910,000 (85.8% of the North American population)
No recognition (16 countries)	Antigua and Barbuda	—	89,000
	Bahamas	—	379,000
	Barbados	—	283,000
	Belize	—	369,000
	Dominica	—	71,000
	El Salvador	—	6,460,000
	Grenada	—	104,000
	Guatemala	—	16,176,000
	Haiti	—	10,994,000
	Jamaica	—	2,729,000
	Nicaragua	—	6,514,000
	Panama	—	3,764,000
	Saint Kitts and Nevis	—	46,000
	Saint Lucia	—	172,000
	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	—	110,000
	Trinidad and Tobago	—	1,357,000
Subtotal	—	—	49,617,000 (8,82% of the North American population)
Constitutional ban on marriage (3 countries)	Cuba[7]	1976	11,252,000
	Dominican Republic[8]	2010	9,980,000
	Honduras[9][10]	2005	8,950,000
Subtotal	—	—	30,182,000 (5.36% of the North American population)
Total	—	—	79,799,000 (14,2% of the North American population)

Sub-national level

Status	Country	Jurisdiction	Legal since
Marriage (43 jurisdictions)
	Denmark	Greenland[11]	2016
	France	Guadeloupe[12] Martinique[12] Saint Barthélemy[12] Saint Martin[12] Saint Pierre & Miquelon[12]	2013
	Netherlands	Bonaire[13] Sint Eustatius[13] Saba[13]	2012
	Mexico	Chihuahua (2015)[14] Coahuila (2014)[15][16] Guerrero (2015)[17] Jalisco (2016)[18][19] Mexico City (Mexican Federal District) (2010)[20] Nayarit (2015)[21] Quintana Roo (2012)[22]	Varies
	United States	Blackfeet Nation (2014)[23] Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska (2015)[24] Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes (2013)[25] Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians (2015)[26] Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (2013).[27] Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (2015)[28] Coquille Indian Tribe (2009)[29] Eastern Shoshone Tribe (2014)[30] Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes (2014)[31] Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation (2014)[32] Grand Portage Band of Chippewa (2013)[33] Iipay Nation of Santa Ysabel (2013)[34] Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (2014)[35] Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (2014)[36] Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (2013)[37] Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians (2013)[38] Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (2010)[39] Northern Arapaho Tribe (2014)[30] Oglala Sioux Tribe (2016)[40] Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin (2015)[41] Pascua Yaqui Tribe (2014)[32] Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians (2013)[42] Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe (2012)[43] Puyallup Tribe of Indians (2014)[44] Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community (2014)[32] San Carlos Apache Tribe (2014)[32] Suquamish Tribe (2011)[45]	Varies
Marriage recognized, but not performed (3 jurisdictions)
	Netherlands	Aruba (Dutch only)[46] Curaçao (Dutch only)[46] Sint Maarten (Dutch only)[46]	2007
Other type of partnership (3 jurisdictions)
	Mexico	Campeche (2013)[47] Colima (2013)[48][49] Michoacán (2015)[50][51]	Varies
No recognition (3 jurisdictions)
	United Kingdom	Anguilla Bermuda British Virgin Islands	—
Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage (3 jurisdictions)
	United Kingdom	Cayman Islands (2009)[52] Montserrat (2010)[53][54] Turks and Caicos Islands (2011)[55]	Varies

Future Legislation

Marriage

Opposition proposals or proposals without a parliamentary majority

Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten As part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in April 2015 representatives of all four constituent countries agreed that same-sex couples should have equal rights throughout the Kingdom.^[56] In Aruba bills on amendments to the civil code, which would establish gender-neutral registered partnerships and allow same-sex couples to get married, were submitted to parliament in April and September, respectively.^[57][58]

Costa Rica On March 19, 2015, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage was introduced to the Legislative Assembly by deputy Ligia Elena Fallas Rodríguez from the Broad Front.^[59] On December 10, 2015, the organization Front for Equal Rights (Frente Por los Derechos Igualitarios) and a group of deputies from the Citizens' Action Party, the National Liberation Party and the Broad Front presented another bill.^[60][61][62]

Mexico A decision of the Mexico Supreme Court on 12 June 2015 resulted in a ruling that found that state bans on same-sex marriage were unconstitutional. The court's ruling is considered a "jurisprudential thesis" and does not invalidate any state laws, meaning gay couples denied the right to wed would still have to seek individual injunctions. The ruling standardized the procedures for judges and courts throughout Mexico, to approve all applications for same-sex marriage,^[63][64] and made the approval mandatory.^[65] The ruling was published in the country's Judicial Gazette on 19 June 2015 and became binding on 22 June 2015.^[66] Some have suggested the ruling "effectively legalises" same-sex marriage in Mexico,^[67][68] though without legislative change, civil registrars are still bound to follow the state constitutions.^[69][70][71]

Non-marital partnership

Government proposals or proposals with a parliamentary majority

Bermuda On 11 February 2016, the Attorney General Trevor Moniz announced that the Government will introduce a bill to create civil unions for same-sex couples. He ruled out legalisation of same-sex marriage.^[72] On 29 February 2016, the Government announced its intention to hold a referendum on both same-sex marriage and civil unions.^[73] On 12 March 2016, Premier of Bermuda Michael Dunkley announced that the referendum will take place mid-to-late June 2016.^[74] The results of the referendum will not be binding and have been described by Dunkley as only a way to get some clarity on the issue. Voters will be asked two questions: "Are you in favour of same-sex marriage in Bermuda?" and "Are you in favour of same-sex civil unions in Bermuda?"^[75] Opposition leader Marc Bean added that after the results of the referendum are announced, the Government will govern accordingly.

See also

• LGBT rights in the Americas
• Recognition of same-sex unions in South America
• Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe
• Recognition of same-sex unions in Oceania

Notes

1. Excluding most Native American tribes. (Same-sex marriage is legal at least in 26 of them)

References

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2. Wolf, Richard (June 26, 2015). "Supreme Court strikes down bans on same-sex marriage". USA Today. Retrieved June 26, 2015.
3. Liptak, Adam (26 June 2015). "Gay Marriage Backers Win Supreme Court Victory". nytimes.com. Retrieved 26 June 2015.
4. "Supreme court rules gay weddings valid in all Mexico". BBC News. 10 August 2010.
5. "Costa Rica Accidentally Approves Same-Sex Unions". The Huffington Post. 3 July 2013. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
6. "Presidenta ya firmó ley que podría legalizar derechos a homosexuales". La Nación. 4 July 2013.
7. "The text of the Constitution of the Republic of Cuba". Walterlippman. January 31, 2003. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
8. (Spanish) Constitución Política de la República Dominicana, proclamada el 26 de enero 2010, Publicada en la Gaceta Oficial No. 10561, del 26 de enero de 2010.
9. (Spanish) CONSTITUCION POLITICA DE LA REPUBLICA DE HONDURAS DE 1982
10. "Honduras Bans Gay Marriage & Adoption". Global Gayz. March 30, 2005. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
11. "Lov om ændring af myndighedsloven for Grønland, lov om ikrafttræden for Grønland af lov om ægteskabets retsvirkninger, retsplejelov for Grønland og kriminallov for Grønland" (in Danish). Government of Denmark. 4 February 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
12. Vignal, Francois (April 15, 2013). "Mariage pour tous : le détail du vote au Sénat" (in French). Public Senat. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
13. "Burgerlijk wetboek BES, boek 1" (in Dutch). overheid.nl. Retrieved 12 October 2012.
14. "Ante polémica, descarta Congreso legislar matrimonios" (in Spanish). El Diario de Chihuahua. 22 June 2015.
15. "Mexican state of Coahuila legalizes same-sex marriage". LGBTQ Nation.
16. "Gay Marriage Law Takes Effect In Mexican State Of Coahuila". ontopmag.com. 2014-09-17. Retrieved 2014-09-18.
17. Recibe el Congreso iniciativa que permitirá matrimonios entre personas del mismo sexo
18. (Spanish) Jalisco: Ordenan a registros no negar trámites a gays
19. "First same-sex couples married in Puerto Vallarta". Puerto Vallarta Daily News. 20 April 2016.
20. Castillo, E. Eduardo (December 21, 2009). "Mexico City Approves Gay Marriage". The Huffington Post. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
21. "Periodico Oficial, Organo Del Gobierno Del Estado De Nayarit" (PDF). 22 December 2015.
22. Vázquez, Jesús (18 July 2012). "Bodas gay generan interés en el sector turismo de Quintana Roo". El Economista (in Spanish) (El Economista S.A. de C.V). Retrieved 23 December 2012.
23. Federal Judge Rules Against Montana’s Ban On Same-Sex Marriage
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25. "Same-sex Oklahoma couple marries legally under tribal law". KOCO. September 26, 2013. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
26. Siletz Tribe becomes latest to join marriage equality movement, Indianz.Com, June 04, 2015
27. "Colvilles recognize same sex marriage".
28. "Tribal Council approves new marriage ordinance". Confederated Tribes of Grande Ronde. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
29. Robinson, B.A. (May 5, 2012). "Adoption of SSM by the Coquille Nation of Oregon". Same-sex marriage (SSM) among Native Americans. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance.
30. "Wind River tribal judge presides over first same-sex marriage". Indianz.Com. November 17, 2014. Retrieved November 18, 2014.
31. Legal hurdles cleared, Nevada sees first same-sex marriage
32. Federal Judge Strikes Down Arizona’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban
33. Minnesota set to legalize same-sex marriage
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35. "Keweenaw Bay Indian Community backs marriage equality law". Indianz.com. June 10, 2015. Retrieved June 11, 2015.
36. </ Supreme Court Rejects Gay Marriage Appeals From 5 States
37. "8th US Native American tribe allows same-sex couples to wed". Gay Star News.
38. "Council of Michigan Indian tribe OKs gay marriage". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Associated Press. March 5, 2013. Retrieved March 5, 2013.
39. Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Laws Annotated 2010-2011 Pocket Part
40. Ernestine Chasing Hawk (3 February 2016). "Traditional elders question same-sex marriage". Native Sun News.
41. Ted Miller (28 May 2015). "Oneida Tribe approves same-sex marriage". WBAY.
42. POKAGON BAND OF POTAWATOMI INDIANS MARRIAGE CODE
43. Forget Las Vegas. There’s Heronswood.
44. Nagle, Matt (July 16, 2014). "Puyallup Tribe Recognizes Same-Sex Marriages". Tacoma Weekly. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
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48. (Spanish) Congreso de Colima aprueba enlaces conyugales de parejas gay
49. (Spanish) Colima declara válida la ley sobre bodas gay
50. (Spanish) Añadirán al Código Familiar del estado la figura de “sociedades de convivencia”
51. (Spanish) Aprueban Código Familiar en Michoacán; no incluye matrimonios gay
52. "The Cayman Islands Constitution Order 2009" (PDF). Cayman Constitution. Retrieved September 15, 2012.
53. "The Montserrat Constitution Order 2010". Government of Montserrat. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
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59. (Spanish) Proyecto de ley N.°19.508
60. (Spanish) Proyecto de organizaciones sociales para Matrimonio Igualitario ya está en la Asamblea Legislativa
61. (Spanish) 12 Diputados respaldan proyecto de ley para permitir matrimonio gay
62. (Spanish) Proyecto de Ley Matrimonio Igualitario by Frente Por los Derechos Igualitarios
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66. México avalará el matrimonio gay a partir del lunes
67. "Mexico is the latest Latin American country to introduce marriage for same-sex couples". The Independent. 16 June 2015.
68. "With Little Fanfare, Mexican Supreme Court Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage". New York Times. 16 June 2015.
69. "Organizaciones civiles demandan a tribunal de Yucatán por obstaculizar el matrimonio homosexual" (in Spanish). Mérida, Mexico: Animo Politico. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
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72. Civil union legislation plans unveiled
73. Bermuda plans referendum on same-sex marriage
74. Jung Thapa, Saurav (26 March 2016). "Bermuda Plans Referendum on Marriage Equality and Civil Unions". Human Rights Campaign.
75. "House: same-sex referendum likely in June". The Royal Gazette. 12 March 2016.