The Atlantic

Australia and the Global Spread of Same-Sex Marriage

This century has seen laws allowing such unions spread rapidly—but not widely.
Source: David Gray / Reuters

This year’s vote in Australia in favor of same-sex marriage will ultimately make the country the 26th in the world to legalize such unions. The worldwide trend began nearly two decades ago when the Netherlands voted in 2000 in favor of letting same-sex couples marry; most recently, Germany became the latest country to pass same-sex marriage legislation this summer.

While the legalization of same-sex marriage has spread rapidly in the 21st century, it hasn’t spread all that far. In Europe, just 15 countries have legalized same-sex marriage. Though Chile is among the latest countries to put forward legislation to legalize same-sex unions, it’s one of the few Latin Americanplace in Asia where same-sex marriage is legal. South Africa, too, is the sole place on the continent where same-sex unions are recognized.

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from The Atlantic

The Atlantic4 min read
Private Equity Has Its Eyes on the Child-Care Industry
Updated at 1:30 p.m. ET on February 22, 2024. Last June, years of organizing in Vermont paid off when the state’s House and Senate passed landmark legislation—overriding a governor’s earlier veto—that invests $125 million a year into its child-care s
The Atlantic5 min readSocial History
The Pro-life Movement’s Not-So-Secret Plan for Trump
Sign up for The Decision, a newsletter featuring our 2024 election coverage. Donald Trump has made no secret of the fact that he regards his party’s position on reproductive rights as a political liability. He blamed the “abortion issue” for his part
The Atlantic4 min readAmerican Government
How Democrats Could Disqualify Trump If the Supreme Court Doesn’t
Near the end of the Supreme Court’s oral arguments about whether Colorado could exclude former President Donald Trump from its ballot as an insurrectionist, the attorney representing voters from the state offered a warning to the justices—one evoking

Related Books & Audiobooks