The recognition of same-sex unions varies by country.

Same-sex marriage Argentina

On 15 July 2010, the Argentine Senate approved a bill extending marriage rights to same-sex couples. The law came into effect on 22 July 2010 upon promulgation by the Argentine President. Argentina thus became the first country in Latin America and the tenth in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage. Polls showed that nearly 70% of Argentines supported giving gay people the same marital rights as heterosexuals.

Australia

Australia became the second nation in Oceania to legally recognize same-sex marriage when the Australian Parliament passed a bill on 7 December 2017. The bill received royal assent on 8 December, and took effect on 9 December 2017. The law removed the ban on same-sex marriage that previously existed and followed a voluntary postal survey held from 12 September to 7 November 2017, which returned a 61.6% Yes vote for same-sex marriage. The same legislation provided for same-sex marriage in all of Australia's external territories.

Austria

Since 1 January 2010, same-sex couples have been allowed to enter registered partnerships (Eingetragene Partnerschaft).

In December 2015, the Vienna Administrative Court dismissed a case challenging the same-sex marriage ban. The plaintiffs appealed to the Constitutional Court, which struck down the ban on same-sex marriage as unconstitutional on 5 December 2017, with effect from 1 January 2019. The Court also decided that civil unions will be open for both same-sex and different-sex couples from that date onwards.

Belgium

Belgium became the second country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriages when a bill passed by the Belgian Federal Parliament took effect on 1 June 2003. Originally, Belgium allowed the marriages of foreign same-sex couples only if their country of origin also allowed these unions, however legislation enacted in October 2004 permits any couple to marry if at least one of the spouses has lived in the country for a minimum of three months. A 2006 statute legalized adoption by same-sex spouses.

Brazil

On 14 May 2013, the Justice's National Council of Brazil legally recognized same-sex marriage in the entire country in a 14–1 vote by issuing a ruling that orders all civil registers of the country to perform same-sex marriages and convert any existing civil union into a marriage, if the couple wish so. The ruling was published on 15 May and took effect on 16 May 2013. Brazil's Supreme Court ruled in May 2011 that same-sex couples are legally entitled to legal recognition of stable unions (known as ), one of the two possible family entities in Brazilian legislation. It includes almost all of the rights available to married couples in Brazil.

Between mid-2011 and May 2013, same-sex couples had their cohabitation issues converted into marriages in several Brazil states with the approval of a state judge. All legal Brazilian marriages were always recognized all over Brazil. This decision paved the way for future legislation on same-sex matrimonial rights. Before the nationwide legislation, the states of Alagoas, Bahia, Ceará, Espírito Santo, the Federal District, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraíba, Paraná, Piauí, Rondônia, Santa Catarina, São Paulo, and Sergipe, as well as the city of Santa Rita do Sapucaí (MG), had already allowed same-sex marriages and several unions were converted into full marriages by state judges. In Rio de Janeiro, same-sex couples could also marry but only if local judges agreed with their request.

Canada

Legal recognition of same-sex marriage in Canada followed a series of constitutional challenges based on the equality provisions of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the first such case, Halpern v. Canada (Attorney General), same-sex marriage ceremonies performed in Ontario on 14 January 2001 were subsequently validated when the common law, mixed-sex definition of marriage was held to be unconstitutional. Similar rulings had already legally recognized same-sex marriage in eight provinces and one territory when the 2005 Civil Marriage Act defined marriage throughout Canada as "the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others".

Chile

Same-sex marriage and adoption for same-sex couples became legal in Chile on March 10, 2022, following passage of a law allowing it in December 2021.

On 10 December 2014, a group of senators from various parties, joined LGBT rights group MOVILH (Homosexual Movement of Integration and Liberation) in presenting a bill to allow same-sex marriage and adoption to Congress. MOVILH had been in talks with the Chilean Government to seek an amiable solution to the pending marriage lawsuit brought against the state before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. On 17 February 2015, lawyers representing the Government and MOVILH met to discuss an amicable solution to the same-sex marriage lawsuit. The Government announced that they would drop their opposition to same-sex marriage. A formal agreement between the two parties and the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights was signed in April 2015.Latin America countries urged to abide by landmark LGBT rights ruling The Washington Blade, 15 January 2018 On 28 January 2015, the National Congress approved a bill recognizing civil unions for same-sex and opposite-sex couples offering some of the rights of marriage. President Michelle Bachelet signed the bill on 14 April, and it came into effect on 22 October.

In September 2016, President Bachelet stated before a United Nations General Assembly panel that the Chilean Government would submit a same-sex marriage bill to Congress in the first half of 2017. A same-sex marriage bill was submitted in September 2017. Parliament began discussing the bill on 27 November 2017,Chilean lawmakers begin debate on same-sex marriage bill The Washington Blade, 27 November 2017 but it failed to pass before March 2018, when a new Government was inaugurated. On 16 January 2020, the bill was approved in the Senate by a 22 to 16 vote, then headed to the constitutional committee. On 21 July 2021, the Senate approved the bill recognizing gay marriage by 28 votes to 14. The bill was then approved by the Chamber of Deputies on 23 November 2021 by 101 votes to 33. The bill was examined in a joint committee of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies on 6 December 2021 to put together a compromise bill for final votes in the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. On 7 December 2021, the National Congress of Chile finally approved the legislature, and it was signed into law the next day.

Colombia

In February 2007, a series of rulings by the Constitutional Court meant that same-sex couples could apply for all the rights that heterosexual couples have in de facto marital unions (uniones maritales de hecho).Colombian court confirms equal rights for same-sex couples, Pink News, 30 January 2009 On 26 July 2011, the Constitutional Court of Colombia ordered the Congress to pass legislation giving same-sex couples similar rights to marriage by 20 June 2013. If such a law were not passed by then, same-sex couples would be granted these rights automatically. Congress failed to pass same-sex marriage legislation, but the civil registries did not begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples after the deadline. On 24 July 2013, a civil court judge in Bogotá declared a same-sex couple legally married, after a ruling on 11 July 2013 accepting the petition. This was the first same-sex couple married in Colombia. Juez aplica norma del matrimonio civil a pareja gay y cita a contrayentes con dos testigos . Retrieved 12 July 2013. On 28 April 2016, the legal uncertainty around same-sex unions was resolved when the Constitutional Court ruled that same-sex couples are allowed to enter into civil marriages in the country and that judges and notaries are barred from refusing to perform same-sex weddings.

Costa Rica

On 10 February 2016, the Constitutional Court of Costa Rica announced it would hear a case seeking to legally recognize same-sex marriage in Costa Rica and declare the country's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional.

In January 2018, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) issued an advisory opinion (AO 24/17) regarding issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, stating that the American Convention on Human Rights includes the recognition of same-sex marriage, in a case brought by the government of Costa Rica.

In the 2018 Costa Rican general election, the IACHR advisory opinion on same-sex marriage became a prominent issue. Carlos Alvarado Quesada, who supports LGBT rights and favors the implementation of the ruling, won the election with 60.7% of the vote, defeating by wide margin Fabricio Alvarado, a vocal opponent of LGBT rights who was against the implementation of the ruling. On 8 August 2018, the Supreme Court of Costa Rica ruled that the prohibition of same-sex marriage in the Family Code is unconstitutional, giving Congress 18 months to reform the law or the prohibition will be automatically lifted. As the Congress did not act, same-sex marriage in Costa Rica became legal on 26 May 2020 in line with the court ruling.

Cuba

Same-sex marriage in Cuba has been legal since 27 September 2022, after a majority of voters approved the legalization of same-sex marriage at a referendum two days prior. In May 2019 the government announced plans to legalize same-sex marriage. A draft family code containing provisions allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt was approved by the National Assembly of People's Power on 21 December 2021. The text was under public consultation until 6 June 2022, and was approved by the Assembly on 22 July 2022. The measure was approved by two-thirds of voters in a referendum held on 25 September 2022. President Miguel Díaz-Canel signed the new family code into law on 26 September,Gramma.cu: Ganó el Sí, se ha hecho justicia, 27 September 2022 and it took effect upon publication in the Official Gazette the following day.

Denmark

On 25 May 1989, Denmark became the first country to legally recognize registered partnerships between same-sex couples. A registered partnership was the same as a civil marriage, but was not seen as marriage in the eyes of the church.

On 7 June 2012, the Folketing (Danish Parliament) approved new laws regarding same-sex civil and religious marriage. These laws permit same-sex couples to get married in the Church of Denmark. The bills received royal assent on 12 June and took effect on 15 June 2012.

On 26 May 2015, Greenland, one of two other constituent countries in the Realm of Denmark, unanimously passed a law recognizing same-sex marriage. The first same-sex couple to marry in Greenland married on 1 April 2016, the day the law went into effect.

On 29 April 2016, the Faroe Islands, the realm's other constituent country, passed a same-sex marriage bill. The law required ratification in the Danish Parliament, which provided it on 25 April 2017. The Faroese law allows civil marriages for same-sex couples and exempts the Church of the Faroe Islands from being required to officiate same-sex weddings. The law took effect on 1 July 2017.

Ecuador

In May 2018, the Ecuador Supreme Court ruled, in a lesbian parenting case, that the country should comply with the 2018 IACHR advisory opinion.CORTE CONSTITUCIONAL INFORMA SOBRE LA DECISIÓN ADOPTADA EN EL CASO NO. 1692-12-EP In June 2018, two family judges ruled the country's same-sex marriage ban unconstitutional. However, the Civil Registry appealed the rulings, preventing their coming into force.

Same-sex marriage eventually took effect in Ecuador on 8 July 2019, following the Constitutional Court ruling which was made on 12 June 2019.

Estonia