What is the gay marriage bill
Taiwan Parliament approves Asia's first gay marriage Bill
TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan's Parliament legalised same-sex marriage on Friday (May 17) in a landmark first for Asia as the government survived a last-minute attempt by conservatives to pass watered-down legislation.
Lawmakers comfortably passed a Bill allowing same-sex couples to form "exclusive eternal unions" and another clause that would let them employ for a "marriage registration" with government agencies.
The vote is a major victory for the island's LGBT community who have campaigned for years to acquire equal marriage rights and it places the island at the vanguard of Asia's burgeoning male lover rights movement.
In recent months conservatives had mobilised to rid the law of any reference to marriage, instead putting forward rival Bills that offered something closer to limited same-sex unions. But those Bills struggled to receive enough votes.
Gay rights groups hailed the vote on Friday, saying the ability to apply for a "marriage registration" - known as Clause Four - place their community much closer to parity with heterosexual couples.
"The passage of Clause Four ensures that two persons of the same-sex can register
Marriage Equality Around the World
The Human Rights Campaign tracks developments in the legal recognition of same-sex marriage around the planet. Working through a worldwide network of HRC global alumni and partners, we lift up the voices of people, national and regional advocates and divide tools, resources, and lessons learned to empower movements for marriage equality.
Current State of Marriage Equality
There are currently 38 countries where same-sex marriage is legal: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the Combined Kingdom, the Joined States of America and Uruguay.
These countries have legalized marriage equality through both legislation and court decisions.
Countries that Legalized Marriage Equality in 2025
Liechtenstein: On May 16, 2024, Liechtenstein's government passed a bill in favor of marriage equality. The law went into effect January 1, 2025.
The New Gay Marriage Bill
This week, Roger Severino, Heritage’s Vice President of Domestic Policy and The Anderlik Fellow, breaks down the so called “Respect for Marriage Act.”
Michelle Cordero: From The Heritage Foundation, I'm Michelle Cordero, and this is Heritage Explains.
Cordero: This summer in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Congress introduced the Respect For Marriage Act.
Speaker 2: As abortion rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers continue to protest the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Residence is voting on a bill to protect marriage equality, out of anxiety the conservative high court could revisit other landmark decisions.
Speaker 3: It simply says each state will recognize the other state's marriages and not refuse a person the right to marry based on race, gender, sexual orientation.
Cordero: The legislation passed the House with the sustain of 47 Republicans. It now moves to the Senate where it would need just 10 Republican votes to pass.
Cordero: Final passage would mean states are no longer allowed to define and acknowledge marriage as a legal union between a bloke and a woman. Instead, they
What the Same Sex Marriage Bill Does and Doesn't Do
The U.S. Senate passed landmark legislation this week enshrining protections for matching sex and interracial marriages in federal law in a bipartisan vote that marked a dramatic turnaround on a once highly divisive issue.
The Senate action marks a major hurdle for the legislation, which President Biden has said he will subscribe into law pending a vote in the Property of Representatives.
Leonore F. Carpenter, a Rutgers Law School professor who has served as an LGBTQA rights attorney, explains what the Respect for Marriage Act accomplishes, and what is does not.
What exactly does the Respect for Marriage Perform do to protect homosexual marriage?
The Act does a few important things.
First, it repeals the federal Defense of Marriage Act. That law was passed in 1996, and it prohibited the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriages that had been validly entered into under a state’s law. It also gave the green light to states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages from other states.
Next, it prohibits states from refusing to recognize same-sex marriages that are validly entered into in a unlike state. It’s also impo
Equality in Motion: Analyzing the Implications of Thailand's Lgbtq+ Marriage Bill
An overwhelming majority of the Senate, composed mostly of conservative members appointed by the military-backed junta from the last government, voted in favor of the Marriage Equality bill during its first reading on 2 April 2024. A total of 147 members voted in favor of the bill, with four voting against and seven abstaining.
Now, following the results of the reading, a 27-member committee will be appointed to study the bill for consideration within 60 days before it is expected to come in the Senate again on 8 July 2024 for the second and third readings. The second reading is a vote on each article of the bill. The third is a vote on the bill as a whole.
If the proposed legislation passes the forthcoming readings, then it will be up for royal endorsement by the King. The bill would then be published by the Royal Gazette, and after 120 days, the proposed legislation would become law. Should everything go accordingly, then it is expected that it would become rule by August or September 2024. This timeline suggests that Thailand could change into the third country in Asia, following Taiwan