Starting this week, same-sex couples can get married in Estonia, making it the first former Soviet nation to legalize marriage equality. Legislation for marriage equality passed the Baltic state’s parliament with a vote of 55 to 34 last June.
The Southeast Asian country will become the third Asian nation, after Taiwan and Nepal, to legalize same-sex marriage. A new amendment to its Civil and Commercial Code will change the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners.” The next step will be an amendment to the country’s pension fund law to recognize same-sex couples.
Nepal has just become the first South Asian country to recognize a same-sex marriage after it formally recognized the marriage of Maya Gurung and Surendra Pandey who wed in 1997.
Hong Kong’s Court of Appeals ruled in favor of two same-sex couples in separate cases involving their rights to own and rent public housing. While same-sex marriage is not legal in the city, the rulings follow other decisions that have firmly established same-sex couples’ rights to equal treatment under the law.
Justice Shrestha’s interim order will allow same-sex couples and other LGBTQ+ couples to legally register their marriages immediately, while the government prepares legislation to amend the civil code and formally legalize same-sex marriage.
Same-sex marriage in India is not currently legal and queer couples in the country are only afforded certain rights if they live together as a cohabitating couple.
It’s the first central European country to do so. It is a rebuke to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has invoked the West’s “moral degeneracy” as one justification for his war against Ukraine.
The ruling adds pressure on the Japanese parliament to legalize same-sex marriages. Japan remains the only country in the G7 that has not legalized marriage equality.
In a historic ruling, the Supreme Court of Namibia has ruled that the government is required to recognize same-sex marriages performed legally in other nations between citizens and foreign nationals.
In a landmark ruling, the Seoul High Court found a government health insurer did owe coverage to the spouse of a customer after the firm withdrew it when it found out the pair were gay.
