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FUKUOKA BECOMES 3RD HIGH COURT IN JAPAN TO RULE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BAN UNCONSTITUTIONAL. The Fukuoka High Court became the third high court in Japan to rule the country’s lack of legal recognition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, but upheld a lower court ruling to dismiss plaintiffs’ claim for damages. Read more here.

 

SPAIN TO ENSHRINE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND ABORTION RIGHTS INTO ITS CONSTITUTION. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has vowed to add abortion rights and same-sex marriage to Spain’s constitution so they ‘can never be undone.’ Read more here.

 

MICHIGAN GOP REP. JOSH SCHRIVER SAYS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE SHOULD BE ‘ILLEGAL AGAIN.’ Michigan GOP Rep. Josh Schriver took to social media to speak on same-sex marriage, saying, “Make gay marriage illegal again.” Read more here.

 

THAILAND HOLDS COUNTDOWN EVENT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. A law allowing same-sex marriage takes effect Jan. 22, allowing LGBTQ couples the same rights as heterosexual unions, including tax benefits, inheritance and adoption rights, and 200 couples will participate in a group wedding ceremony on that day. Read more here.

 

TOP HONG KONG COURT BACKS HOUSING RIGHTS FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES. Hong Kong’s top court unanimously upheld three earlier rulings that favored granting public housing and inheritance rights to married same-sex couples, citing equality provisions in the city’s mini-constitution. Read more here.

 

STAND-ALONE CHURCH SERVICES FOR BRITISH SAME-SEX COUPLES ‘BEFORE TOO LONG’, SAYS BISHOP. In a video shown to St. Albans diocesan synod and subsequently posted on YouTube this month, the Bishop of Leicester, the Rt. Rev. Martyn Snow says that stand-alone services of blessing for same-sex couples will be available for use “before too long.” Read more here.

 

VANUATU PARLIAMENT AMENDS MARRIAGE ACT TO BAN SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Vanuatu’s parliament has passed an amendment to its Marriage Act stating marriage is the union of a male and female. Minister of Internal Affairs Andrew Napuat said that marriage is defined in the country’s constitution as being between a male and a female. Read more here.

 

THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH BEHIND THE LAVENDER MARRIAGE TREND. Gen Z is rejecting the standard marriage blueprint, focusing instead on a radical way of rethinking relationships with shared goals, such as financial security, reliable companionship and a partner who’s down to weather life’s ups and downs without necessarily being “the one.” Read more here.

 

MARRIAGE IN CHINA HITS ROCK BOTTOM – WHAT THIS MEANS FOR THE COUNTRY’S FUTURE. China’s marriage rate has sharply declined, with registered marriages falling below 5 million for the first time in January- September this year, a 17-percent decrease from last year, with just 4.74 million couples tying the knot. Read more here.

 

CALIFORNIA, COLORADO AND HAWAII VOTERS PASS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE PROPOSITIONS. California voters passed Proposition 3, guaranteeing the right for same-sex, as well as interracial, couples to marry. Colorado voters passed Amendment J, repealing a ban on same-sex unions, and Hawaii also passed a resolution approving same-sex marriage. Read more here.

 

CHURCH LEADER’S SAME-SEX MARRIAGE GETS HIM FIRED MONTHS BEFORE RETIREMENT IN MICHIGAN. Fred Szczepanski, the music director of a Catholic church in Traverse City, Mich., was fired months before his retirement when officials learned of his same-sex marriage, and stated: “The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is instituted by God and therefore in its nature cannot be changed.” Read more here.

 

SOUTH KOREAN CHRISTIANS RALLY AGAINST HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE AT MASSIVE PROTEST. South Korean Christians participated in a huge rally in Seoul to express their opposition to homosexual marriage, new pro-LGBT legislation and a supreme court decision conferring some spousal rights on homosexuals. Read more here.

 

SECOND JAPANESE HIGH COURT RULES LACK OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE PROTECTIONS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. The Tokyo High Court ruled that the government’s refusal to recognize same-sex marriage goes against the country’s constitution, that it has “no rational basis” and has become a form of “legal discrimination based on sexual orientation.” Read more here.

 

COLLEGES CONTRIBUTE TO ‘DECLINE OF MARRIAGE,’ SOCIAL COMMENTATOR SAYS IN NEW BOOK. Universities are discouraging marriage through their promotion of “intersectionality” and “ideologically driven pseudoscience,” according to Conn Carroll, the author of a new book about marriage and democracy. Read more here.

 

POLAND INTRODUCES BILL TO LEGALIZE SAME-SEX CIVIL UNIONS. Poland’s government submitted a draft law legalizing civil unions, but the bill still has to run the gauntlet of the parliament and conservative President Andrzej Duda. Read more here.

 

NEW JAPAN PM ISHIBA CAUTIOUS ABOUT ALLOWING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. New Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba took a cautious stance on allowing same-sex couples to marry in Japan, the only Group of Seven nation without legal protection for such marriages and civil unions. Read more here.

 

GOV’T ARGUES HONG KONG PUBLIC HOUSING FOR ‘TRADITIONAL FAMILIES’ AS FIGHT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIED COUPLES’ RIGHTS REACHES TOP COURT. Hong Kong’s public housing policy was aimed at supporting “traditional families founded on opposite-sex marriage,” a government lawyer has told the city’s top court in an appeal over housing rights for same-sex couples married overseas. Read more here.

 

THAI KING SIGNS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL INTO LAW. Thailand’s king has signed a bill into law, making the country the first in South East Asia to recognize same-sex unions. The bill cleared the Senate in June but required royal endorsement to become law, which will come into effect on 22 January 2025. Read more here.

 

ECHR CLAIMS POLAND ‘VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS’ FOR NOT RECOGNIZING SAME-SEX PARTNERSHIPS. The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that the lack of legal recognition for same-sex partnerships in Poland violates the human rights of such couples. Read more here.

 

BALLOT MEASURES COULD REMOVE DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE FROM THREE STATE CONSTITUTIONS. The state constitutions of California, Colorado and Hawaii still define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, but measures on the 2024 election ballots in those states could remove this traditional definition. Read more here.

 

TAIWAN RECOGNIZES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BETWEEN TAIWANESE AND CHINESE. Taiwanese-Chinese same-sex couples can now legally register their marriages in Taiwan, provided they marry in one of the 35 countries that recognize same-sex marriage, such as the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Read more here.

 

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE WAS ON A ROLL IN ASIA. NOT ANYMORE. Thailand passed a law in June to legalize same-sex marriage, and the king is expected to sign it into law soon, but the recent flurry of progress for marriage equality in Asia could stop there, with no other government in the region looking likely to follow suit anytime soon. Read more here.

 

AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH REAFFIRMS BAN ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. During its 52nd Quadrennial Session of the General Conference, the historically black denomination African Methodist Episcopal Church rejected a proposal to strike down its ban on same-sex marriage. Read more here.

 

ADVOCATES PUSH FOR HAWAII CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Hawaii voters are going to the polls in November to vote on Ballot Question No. 1, which is an attempt to approve a constitutional amendment for same-sex marriage, though it’s already legal in the state. Read more here.

 

THE MARRIAGE PARADOX: UNDERSTANDING AND REMEDYING THE PARADOXICAL PLACE OF MARRIAGE IN AMERICA. Demographically, in the wake of the divorce revolution of the 1960s and 1970s, and the ongoing decline in the marriage rate, this social institution has lost significant ground as the anchor of adulthood and foundation of family life and fewer Americans view marriage as important for men, women and children. Read more here.

 

NIGERIA: GOVERNMENT DENIES APPROVING DEBATE COMPETITION ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. The federal government has denied approving a letter stating that it has agreed to host a National Schools Competition and a debate for secondary schools in the country tagged “Same-Sex Marriage Should Be Legalized in Nigeria.” Read more here.

 

KIM DAVIS FILES BRIEF IN EFFORT TO POTENTIALLY OVERTURN OBERGEFELL RULING ON HOMOSEXUAL ‘MARRIAGE.’ Attorneys for the former county clerk who refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Rowan County, Kentucky because it was a violation of her religious beliefs, have filed a brief to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Read more here.

 

SOUTH KOREA’S TOP COURT UPHOLDS LANDMARK RULING OVER SAME-SEX SPOUSAL STATE BENEFITS. South Korea’s supreme court upheld a 2023 ruling that the National Health Insurance Service should provide equal spousal coverage to a homosexual couple who filed a suit in 2021 against the agency that canceled their spousal benefits. Read more here.

 

COLLEGE BASKETBALL STAR HANNAH HIDALGO SHARED VIDEO SLAMMING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Notre Dame University women’s basketball star Hannah Hidalgo is under heavy fire for sharing a video from political commentator Candace Owens because both women believe same-sex marriage is a sin. Read more here.

 

SUPREME COURT IN CARIBBEAN RULES THAT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IS NOW PERMITTED IN ARUBA AND CURAÇAO. People of the same gender will now be allowed to marry each other in Aruba and Curaçao, the Supreme Court has ruled, overturning the previous prohibition. Read more here.

 

FRUSTRATED BY JAPAN’S SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BAN, LGBTQ COUPLES OPT FOR ‘PHOTO WEDDINGS.’ Unable to get married legally in Japan, LGBTQ couples are donning traditional kimonos and fashionable wear for so-called “photo weddings,” and they are carefully choreographing the images to keep them hidden in a conservative society. Read more here.

 

BILL INTRODUCING SAME-SEX CIVIL PARTNERSHIPS IN POLAND ADDED TO GOVERNMENT AGENDA. After the European Court of Human Rights ruled in December that Poland’s lack of legal recognition and protection for same-sex couples violates their human rights, legislation has been introduced that would legalize same-sex partnerships, though it will face hurdles and a potential presidential veto. Read more here.

 

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA TO REVISIT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE RULING ON JULY 10. The Supreme Court of India will hear petitions July 10 demanding a review of the apex court’s 2023 judgment rejecting attempts to legalize same-sex marriage. Read more here.

 

BILL TAKING PA. SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BAN OFF THE BOOKS CLEARS STATE HOUSE. A bill that would repeal Pennsylvania’s same-sex marriage ban passed the state House of Representatives on a bipartisan vote and now heads to the GOP-controlled state Senate. Read more here.

 

MALAWI COURT REJECTS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Malawi’s Constitutional Court dismissed the case of two applicants who wanted it to legalize same-sex relationships. The applicants claimed Malawi’s laws violate their fundamental rights, including a right to privacy and dignity. Read more here.

 

NO RIGHT TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE—KOREAN SUPREME COURT TO HEAR CASE WITH POTENTIAL TO REDEFINE MARRIAGE. Korea defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but its Supreme Court is set to rule on a case to determine if a same-sex partner can be registered as a “dependent spouse” under Korea’s National Health Insurance Service, potentially undermining that definition of “spouse.” Read more here.

 

‘NOT A GAY CHURCH’: UMC OF LIBERIA WON’T BLESS SAME-SEX MARRIAGES, ORDAIN LGBT CLERGY. The United Methodist Church in Liberia will not bless same-sex unions or ordain noncelibate homosexual clergy even after the denomination voted to allow both practices. Read more here.

 

REPUBLICAN SUPPORT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE PLUMMETED OVER PAST TWO YEARS, NEW POLL FINDS. After peaking at 55 percent in 2021 and 2022, Republican support for same-sex marriage is down to 46 percent overall, dropping 9 points in just two years, according to new Gallup polling. Read more here.

 

UK: LIVING TOGETHER BEFORE MARRYING AT HIGHEST LEVEL SINCE RECORDS BEGAN. More than nine in 10 couples who married in 2021 or 2022 were living together beforehand, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. Data also showed a record number of same-sex marriages took place in 2022. Read more here.

 

‘PANDORA’S BOX’ OF POLYAMORY, CHILD MARRIAGES POSSIBLE UNDER PROPOSED CALIFORNIA AMENDMENT, GROUP WARNS. The proposed state constitutional amendment, Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, could remove the traditional definition of marriage from state law and could potentially open up a Pandora’s box to legitimize polyamorous, incestuous and child marriages. Read more here.

 

THAI SENATE LIKELY TO APPROVE LANDMARK SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL. Thailand’s senate is set to approve a same-sex marriage bill, which will bring the country closer to being the first in Southeast Asia to guarantee marriage rights for homosexual people. Read more here.

 

SUPPORT FOR HOMOSEXUAL ‘MARRIAGE’ DECLINING IN THE US AS MORE AMERICANS WAKE UP TO LGBT AGENDA. A new Ipsos poll shows Americans’ support for homosexual ‘marriage’ dropped 8 points in just three years, down to 51%, as people increasingly turn against the LGBT colonization of society. Read more here.

 

MOST PASTORS STILL OPPOSE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Almost a decade after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage across the country, 75 percent of pastors remain strongly opposed, and the supporting percentage isn’t growing any larger, according to a Lifeway Research study. Read more here.

 

METHODIST CHURCH IN IRELAND APOLOGIZES TO LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY BUT FAILS TO ALLOW SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. The Methodist Church in Ireland has apologized “unreservedly for failures in pastoral support and care” to members of the LGBTQ+ community and their families, but it also maintained that the church understands marriage as being “between one man and one woman” and that it is seen as “the only appropriate relationship within which sexual intercourse may take place.” Read more here.

 

POPE FRANCIS DENIES APPROVAL OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BLESSINGS. Pope Francis has clarified his position on same-sex marriage, stating that while he permits blessings for individuals, he does not endorse blessings for same-sex unions. Read more here.

 

ALBANIAN LGBT COUPLE FILES APPLICATION FOR LEGAL MARRIAGE. Two Albanian women filed an application for legal marriage at their local municipality office, becoming the first couple in the country’s history to challenge the laws on marriage. Read more here.

 

LIECHTENSTEIN LEGALIZES SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN NEAR-UNANIMOUS VOTE. The 24-1 vote by lawmakers makes Liechtenstein the 22nd country in Europe to legalize same-sex marriage. Read more here.

 

EFFORT TO PROTECT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AT THE POLLS KICKS OFF IN COLORADO. As the 2024 legislative session entered its final hours, Gov. Jared Polis and state politicians gathered with members of the LGBTQ+ community on the west steps of the Capitol to launch an effort to remove language banning same-sex marriages in the state Constitution. Read more here.

 

COLORADO LEGISLATURE: SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AMENDMENT TO GO TO VOTERS. A proposed Constitutional amendment to remove defunct language banning same-sex marriage will go to voters this November after a referred measure passed the Colorado House. Read more here.

 

HAWAII VOTERS COULD REPEAL LEGISLATURE’S AUTHORITY ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. An amendment to repeal the Legislature’s authority to limit marriage to opposite-sex couples will be on the November ballot. Read more here.

 

CZECH PRESIDENT SIGNS LAW GRANTING SAME-SEX COUPLES MORE RIGHTS – BUT NOT MARRIAGE. President Petr Pavel has signed into law a new bill that changes the rights of same-sex couples in civil partnerships, allowing most of the rights that married couples have, but not all. Read more here.

 

POLL SHOWS GROWING SUPPORT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN POLAND. The poll reveals that 66 percent of Poles support civil partnerships for same-sex couples, and 50 percent believe such couples should have the right to marry. The survey found 63 percent of respondents oppose adoption rights for same-sex couples. Read more here.

 

THAI LGBT ACTIVISTS CELEBRATE VOTE THAT BRINGS SAME-SEX MARRIAGE CLOSER. Thai LGBT activists celebrated another victory after a same-sex marriage bill overwhelmingly passed a first reading in the upper house, a key step bringing the country closer to becoming Asia’s third territory to legalize same-sex unions. Read more here.

 

THAILAND POISED TO LEGALIZE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AFTER PARLIAMENT PASSES BILL. Lawmakers in Thailand’s lower house of Parliament overwhelmingly approved a marriage equality bill that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to legalize marriage partners of any gender. Read more here.

 

MARRIED PEOPLE MORE LIKELY TO BE ‘THRIVING’: GALLUP SURVEY. A new Gallup Poll reveals that married couples are more likely to have a “strong and loving” relationship with their children than cohabiting partners do. Read more here.

 

MARRIAGES RISE IN CHINA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN NINE YEARS. The Ministry of Civil Affairs said there were 845,000 more marriages than in 2022. A record 13.47 million tied the knot in 2013. It comes as the government campaigns to promote marriage in its latest bid to target record-low birth rates. Read more here.

 

JAPAN’S BAN ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE UNCONSTITUTIONAL, HIGH COURT RULES. The Sapporo High Court upheld a lower court’s verdict that not recognizing same-sex marriage violated the country’s constitution. Read more here.

 

SUPPORT FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND LGBTQ PROTECTIONS DIPPED IN 2023, SURVEY SHOWS. After steadily increasing over the last decade, support for same-sex marriage in the U.S. dipped to 67 percent in 2023 from a record high of 69 percent the year before, according to the survey of more than 22,000 U.S. adults, which was conducted by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute. Read more here.

 

LUTHERAN CHURCH BISHOPS BACK SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. In a historic shift, the Bishops’ Conference of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland has approved a compromise that could pave the way to church weddings for same-sex couples. Read more here.

 

VIRGINIA GOV. YOUNGKIN SIGNS DEMOCRAT BILL CODIFYING HOMOSEXUAL ‘MARRIAGE,’ BETRAYING CONSERVATIVES.The Virginia Senate passed the bill 22-17, with one Republican senator supporting the bill.. Read more here.

 

CZECH HOMOSEXUALS CAN HAVE PARTNERSHIP; MARRIAGE IS RESERVED FOR HETEROSEXUALS. The Czech Parliament voted against formalizing same-sex marriage, but some elements were changed in the partnership rules, and the adoption of children is still limited to a few cases. Read more here.

 

PROPOSAL TO DELETE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BAN FROM FLORIDA CONSTITUTION DIES WITHOUT A HEARING. One measure (HJR 167) would have called for a statewide referendum during the 2024 General Election proposing the repeal of language in the state constitution defining marriage as only being between one man and one woman. Read more here.

 

U.S. SUPREME COURT JUSTICE SAMUEL ALITO CONDEMNS IMPACT OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE RULING ON THE SOCIETY. Justice Alito mentioned in a case summary concerning an employment discrimination lawsuit that the 2015 case legalizing same-sex marriage “exemplifies the danger that I anticipated in Obergefell v. Hodges, namely, that Americans who do not hide their adherence to traditional religious beliefs about homosexual conduct will be ‘labeled as bigots and treated as such’ by the government.” Read more here.

 

GREECE BECOMES FIRST ORTHODOX CHRISTIAN COUNTRY TO LEGALIZE SAME-SEX CIVIL MARRIAGE. A cross-party majority of 176 lawmakers in the 300-seat parliament voted in favor of the landmark bill drafted by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s center-right government. Read more here.

 

TENNESSEE LAWMAKERS OK BILL ALLOWING PUBLIC OFFICIALS TO REFUSE TO PERFORM SAME-SEX MARRIAGES. Tennessee lawmakers gave final approval to legislation that would allow public officials to refuse to perform same-sex marriages, sending the controversial bill to the governor, who has not said whether he will sign it. Read more here.

 

HUNDREDS OF PROTESTERS OPPOSED TO BILL ALLOWING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE RALLY IN GREEK CAPITAL. With the Greek Parliament nearing a vote on same-sex marriage, more than 1,500 protesters gathered in central Athens to oppose the legislation. Read more here.

 

GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCH TO CAMPAIGN AGAINST SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. The Holy Synod, the highest governing body of the Church of Greece, expressed its opposition to the government’s expected bill on same-sex marriage and vowed to campaign against it. Read more here.

 

KEY OPPOSITION THROWS WEIGHT BEHIND GREEK GOVERNMENT’S SAME-SEX MARRIAGE LEGALIZATION EFFORTS. Syriza leader, Stefanos Kasselakis, who married his male partner in New York in October, said he would instruct his lawmakers to vote for a same-sex marriage proposal, although he argued that it didn’t go far enough on parenthood rights. Read more here.

 

REBELLION AGAINST THE VATICAN: 51 PRIESTS IN PERU REFUSE TO BLESS SAME-SEX COUPLES. Clergy in Peru have attacked a new document that formally allows priests to bless same-sex couples, without approving same-sex marriage, and one bishop said the Vatican’s policy harms the communion of the church. Read more here.

 

GREECE’S SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL WILL INCLUDE ADOPTION RIGHTS, NO SURROGACY. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said a government bill legalizing same-sex marriage will extend parental rights to couples but will not allow for medically assisted reproduction through a surrogate mother. Read more here.

 

MITSOTAKIS PUSHES GREECE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL DESPITE OPPOSITION FROM WITHIN HIS PARTY. Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis is expected to address the issue extensively in a television interview, show support for “marriage equality,” and announce a bill giving same-sex couples the right to be joined in a civil marriage despite massive public opposition. Read more here.

 

VIRGINIA DEMOCRATS MOVE TO AMEND STATE CONSTITUTION TO PROTECT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Virginia Democrats are spearheading efforts to amend the state constitution to abolish its ban on same-sex marriage, which is not allowed by the state’s constitution. Read more here.

 

POLAND: ECHR RULING MEANS SAME-SEX UNIONS MUST BE RECOGNIZED, SAYS OMBUDSMAN. Poland’s ombudsman has said recognition of same-sex unions is a must in accordance with a December ruling by the European Court of Human Rights. Read more here.

 

VATICAN MOVES TO CALM BISHOPS OVER SAME-SEX BLESSINGS APPROVAL. The Vatican moved to calm Catholic bishops in some countries who have reacted negatively to last month’s approval of blessings for same-sex couples, telling them that the measure is not “heretical” or “blasphemous.” Read more here.

 

BELGIAN BISHOPS PUBLISH ENTHUSIASTIC STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF BLESSING HOMOSEXUAL ‘COUPLES.’ A number of Catholic bishops from Belgium, known as the Flemish bishops, have published a joint statement through their pro-LGBT ministry fawning over the Vatican’s recent document which gives approval to priests to bless homosexual “couples.” Read more here.

 

PERUVIAN BISHOP BANS SAME-SEX ‘BLESSINGS,’ SAYS FIDUCIA SUPPLICANS ‘HARMS THE COMMUNION OF THE CHURCH.’ Bishop Rafael Escudero Lopez-Brea rejected a recent papally approved document, saying it “harms the communion of the Church” and forbidding his priests to bless irregular or same-sex unions. Read more here.

 

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND PARENTAL RIGHTS GO TOGETHER, GREEK GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SAYS. Dimitris Tsiodras, head of the Greek prime minister’s press office, reiterated that an announced plan to realize same-sex marriage will also include an extension of parental rights to homosexual couples. Read more here.

 

FORMER KENTUCKY CLERK ORDERED TO PAY LEGAL FEES AFTER REFUSING TO ISSUE MARRIAGE LICENSE TO SAME-SEX COUPLES. Kim Davis gained international notoriety in 2015 when she was jailed for refusing to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple, maintaining that she had been faced with a “seemingly impossible choice” between following her conscience and losing her freedom. Read more here.

 

ESTONIA BECOMES FIRST FORMER SOVIET NATION TO ALLOW SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Same-sex couples in Estonia are now able to legally get married, as the former Soviet nation’s new law came into effect Monday. Read more here.

 

HUNDREDS OF UK PRIESTS REJECT SAME-SEX BLESSINGS AS ‘INADMISSIBLE.’ A group of Catholic clergy in the United Kingdom has issued a position paper declaring that any blessings of same-sex couples “are pastorally and practically inadmissible.” Read more here.

 

THAILAND LAWMAKERS PASS FOUR DRAFT BILLS TO LEGALIZE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. In moving toward the legalization of same-sex marriage, Thailand lawmakers overwhelmingly approved four draft bills in their first reading. Read more here.

 

THAI LAWMAKERS TO DEBATE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE EQUALITY. Thailand’s cabinet gave the go-ahead for Parliament to debate legalizing same-sex unions, and Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said the debate is expected to begin Thursday. Read more here.

 

NEW POLISH RULING COALITION OUTLINES PLANS TO INTRODUCE SAME-SEX UNIONS. Figures from each of the three main groups that make up Poland’s new ruling coalition have outlined plans to introduce legal recognition of same-sex unions. However, one of them has ruled out the idea of also allowing same-sex couples to marry. Read more here.

 

CHURCH OF ENGLAND BLESSES SAME-SEX COUPLES FOR THE FIRST TIME. Priests at the Church of England in Felixstowe have offered officially sanctioned blessings of same-sex partnerships for the first time, though a ban on church weddings for homosexual couples remains in place amid deep divisions within global Anglicanism over marriage and sexuality. Read more here.

 

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE NOT IN GHANA’S INTEREST – CATHOLIC BISHOPS REITERATE SUPPORT FOR GHANAIAN FAMILY VALUES BILL. The Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Conference has reiterated support for the bill known as the Promotion of Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values bill, currently pending in parliament. Read more here.

 

2023 AMERICAN FAMILY SURVEY FINDS BELIEF MARRIAGE IS ESSENTIAL IS DECLINING. An American Enterprise Institute survey found that the U.S. marriage rate is on the decline, while the parenting rate remains fairly constant. Read more here.

 

GREECE GOVT ‘FINALIZING’ BILL TO LEGALIZE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. The conservative New Democracy government is working on the final arrangements for a bill that will legalize same-sex marriage, though some members of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ cabinet have voiced opposition to the initiative. Read more here.

 

NEPAL REGISTERS FIRST LGBTQ MARRIAGE IN ‘MILESTONE DAY.’ An LGBTQ couple, one claiming to be a transgender woman, has acquired a marriage certificate in Nepal, a first in South Asia. Read more here.

 

HOW PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD VIEW SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Attitudes about same-sex marriage vary widely around the world, and Pew Research Center surveys reveal that the highest level of support comes from Sweden, where 92 percent of adults favor it, and the lowest support is in Nigeria, where only 2 percent back it. Read more here.

 

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: INDIA’S SUPREME COURT REVIEWING PETITIONS ON OCTOBER 17 VERDICT. The Supreme Court of India is considering petitions seeking review of the October 17 judgement which refused to grant legal recognition to same-sex couples. Read more here.

 

ROMANIAN PM: COUNTRY IS NOT READY FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. The European Court of Human Rights issued a verdict that Romania must recognize same-sex couples by March 25, 2024, but Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu says it’s not a priority, and the nation isn’t ready for it. Read more here.

 

THAILAND’S CABINET APPROVES MARRIAGE EQUALITY BILL TO GRANT SAME-SEX COUPLES EQUAL RIGHTS. Thailand’s cabinet approved an amendment to its civil code to allow same-sex marriage with an expectation for the draft to be submitted to Parliament next month. Read more here.

 

COUPLE MARRIED ABROAD FIGHTS FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE RIGHTS IN JAPAN. A Japanese and French couple who married in France has petitioned a family court in Japan to order the Amagasaki city government to accept their marriage registration. Read more here.

 

LATVIAN PARLIAMENT LEGALIZES SAME-SEX PARTNERSHIPS. Homosexuality remains a divisive topic in Latvia, but its parliament voted to allow same-sex couples to establish civil unions, providing them with legal recognition and fewer rights than married couples. Read more here.

 

ISLE OF MAN CHURCH TO APPLY TO BE FIRST TO OFFER SAME-SEX MARRIAGES. A Methodist church in Douglas could become the first to offer same-sex marriages on the Isle of Man after applying for a license to do so. Read more here.

 

DOZENS OF CHURCH OF ENGLAND BISHOPS WANT TO ALLOW CLERGY SAME-SEX CIVIL MARRIAGES. Forty-four senior church figures, including 15 diocesan and 29 assistant or suffragan bishops, issued a statement this week calling for immediate guidance to allow LGBT clergy and ordinands to marry. Read more here.

 

CZECH REPUBLIC ATTEMPTS TO MAKE DIVORCE EASIER. Divorces will get easier and quicker in the country after the minister of justice completes divorce-related amendments to the marriage law. Read more here.

 

CONSERVATIVE HARVARD PROFESSOR DESCRIBES ‘CONDEMNATION’ FOR VIEWS ON MARRIAGE, ABORTION. Harvard School of Public Health Professor Tyler VanderWeele is fighting against cancellation by his peers after he publicly came out against the Supreme Court’s redefining of marriage. Read more here.

 

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE REMAINS BANNED – FOR NOW – IN THE NAVAJO NATION. Many members of the Navajo Nation Council have shown support for LGBTQ rights, but efforts to approve of same-sex marriage have failed twice before, and a pending bill faces opposition among the 170,000 residents of the Navajo Nation, where conservative Christian teachings run deep. Read more here.

 

CHURCH OF ENGLAND ADMITS SAME-SEX COUPLE BLESSING SERVICES UNLIKELY BEFORE 2025. Prayers of blessing for same-sex couples in the Church of England should be acceptable “soon,” but approval for standalone services might not come for well over a year from now, a bishop has said. Read more here.

 

INDIA’S TOP COURT DECLINES TO LEGALIZE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN LANDMARK LGBTQ RULING. India’s high court refused to legalize same-sex unions in a ruling that also emphasized the rights of the LGBTQ community to be free of prejudice and discrimination. Read more here.

 

HONG KONG COURT UPHOLDS RULINGS BACKING SUBSIDIZED HOUSING BENEFITS FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES. A Hong Kong court supported two earlier rulings that granted subsidized housing benefits to same-sex couples. Read more here.

 

INDIA’S SUPREME COURT TO HAND DOWN VERDICT ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. India’s top court will deliver a verdict this week on granting legal recognition to same-sex marriages, a ruling that has the potential to spark momentous changes in the world’s most populous country. Read more here.

 

BRAZIL FAR RIGHT MOVES TO BAN SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. A commission of the Brazilian Chamber of Deputies approved a bill promoted by the right that proposes ending same-sex marriage, even though it has been legally recognized since 2011. Read more here.

 

POPE SIGNALS OPENNESS TO BLESSINGS FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES. The Pope wrote in a letter “there are ‘situations’ that may not be ‘morally acceptable’ but where a priest can assess, on a case-by-case basis, whether blessings may be given — as long as such blessings are kept separate from the sacrament of marriage.” Read more here.

 

EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS TELLS ROMANIA TO RECOGNIZE SAME-SEX COUPLES. The court ruled that Romania violated Article 8 of the European Convention, which protects the right to respect for family life, by not giving LGBTQ+ couples any means of legally safeguarding their relationships. Read more here.

 

CALIFORNIA GOP REJECTS EFFORTS TO STRIP ABORTION, SAME-SEX MARRIAGE FROM PLATFORM. California Republicans attending their fall conference swiftly shut down a proposal that would have cut opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage from their platform, frustrating members who had hoped a more liberal approach would increase their chances of success in a state where they are continually falling behind. Read more here.

 

FATE OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN NAMIBIA LIES IN PRESIDENT’S HANDS. Namibia legislator Jerry Ekandjo’s private member’s bill, which deals with changes to the Marriage Act, including the prohibition of same-sex marriage and any acknowledgment of such unions in Namibia, has sailed through both chambers of Parliament. Read more here.

 

ROMANIA’S SOCIAL DEMOCRATS RELUCTANT TO RECOGNIZE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. The European Human Rights Court called on Romania to urgently change its laws, but the nation’s ruling government coalition is resisting. Read more here.

 

GREECE MULLS LEGALIZING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE; ADOPTIONS. The conservative government in Greece is considering legalizing same-sex marriage and adoption for gay couples, as an openly gay politician was elected leader of the main opposition. Read more here.

 

ROMANIA GOVERNMENT PROPOSES TO RECOGNIZE SAME-SEX MARRIAGES CONDUCTED IN EU. The Romanian government has approved a draft law stating that same-sex couples who were married in a European Union nation will be legally recognized in Romania. Read more here.

 

LUTHERANS IN ESTONIA STOP MARRYING COUPLES BECAUSE OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Because Estonia approved of same-sex marriages, Lutheran churches have decided to forego marriage registrations since this summer. Read more here.

 

THE U.S. MARRIAGE RATE REBOUNDS TO ITS PRE-PANDEMIC LEVEL. After two years of decline, marriages in the U.S. have now returned to pre-pandemic levels of 34 per 1,000 according to the newly released 2022 American Community Survey from the Census Bureau. Read more here.

 

ALMOST HALF OF DUTCH NEWBORNS HAVE AN UNMARRIED MOTHER. In total, 42 percent of the babies born in 2022 (nearly 71,000 in all) did not have married parents, new statistics of the Dutch agency CBS show. Read more here.

 

LAW WOULD GIVE ISLAND OF JERSEY SAME-SEX PARENTS EQUAL RIGHTS. Proposed laws to give same-sex parents in Jersey equal rights are due to be lodged with the States by the end of the year, Assistant Minister for Children Louise Doublet, said. Read more here.

 

IS A CRISIS IN UKRAINIAN MARRIAGES IMMINENT? Compared to last year, the number of people who applied for marriage has declined by almost 20 per cent, while the number of divorces has risen by 33 per cent. Read more here.

 

PEW SURVEY: EIGHT IN 10 MALAYSIANS OPPOSE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, LOCAL BUDDHISTS MOST SUPPORTIVE. Only 17 per cent of respondents polled said they favored allowing same-sex marriage to be made legal — the second-lowest level of support among the six countries surveyed. Read more here.

 

GERMAN BISHOPS FIGHT OVER SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Roman Catholic doctrine disapproves of same-sex marriage, but dissenting bishops organized a mass blessing in protest against Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki, who had criticized the blessing of same-sex couples. Read more here.

 

JURY DECIDES IN FAVOR OF KENTUCKY SAME-SEX COUPLE DENIED MARRIAGE LICENSE. The couple sued former county clerk Kim Davis who was briefly jailed in 2015 over her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Read more here.

 

JAPAN COURT DENIES SPOUSAL BENEFITS TO SAME-SEX COUPLE. A Japanese court ruled that a person in a same-sex relationship is not entitled to spousal benefits provided to a person in marriage or in a common-law marital relationship, rejecting a damages claim sought by a woman against her former employer. Read more here.

 

CONSERVATIVES IN DENMARK PROPOSE ACTION AGAINST DIVORCES. One in three children experiences their parents divorcing, along with the resulting consequences, and the Conservative Party wants to reserve funding for the prevention of divorces. Read more here.

 

HONG KONG COURT GIVES ‘PARTIAL VICTORY’ TO SAME-SEX MARRIAGE SUPPORTERS. Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal ordered the government to come up with a plan to recognize same-sex marriage after justices ruled that it had failed to constitutionally develop a framework. Read more here.

 

SAME-SEX COUPLE WINS EUROPEAN COURT RULING AGAINST BULGARIA. The European Court of Human Rights condemned Bulgaria over its refusal to recognize the marital status of a lesbian couple who previously married in the United Kingdom. Read more here.

 

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE IN GREECE TO BE LEGALIZED. A draft bill to be submitted to the Greek Parliament in the coming months will extend equal marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples, five years after the leftist-led government passed legislation granting fostering rights to same-sex couples. Read more here.

 

LARGE GLOBAL CORPORATIONS CALL ON CZECH PM TO ACCEPT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. Major corporations operating in Czechia, such as Vodafone, Microsoft, Danone, ČSOB, and Ikea are calling upon Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala to endorse marriage equality for same-sex couples. Read more here.

 

FOUR OUT OF 10 UKRAINIANS OPPOSE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. In total, 42 per cent of the participants of a survey were against legalization of same-sex marriage, while 37 percent were explicitly in favor. Read more here.

 

MALAWI’S PARLIAMENT RECOMMENDS REFERENDUM ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGES. In the southern African nation that criminalizes homosexuality, faith leaders have spoken out against same-sex relations, but the parliament is recommending a referendum on whether or not to legalize it. Read more here.

 

OVER 4,000 SAME-SEX MARRIAGES IN NEW ZEALAND SINCE BECOMING LEGAL A DECADE AGO. At the 10th anniversary mark of the legalization of same-sex marriages in New Zealand, just two percent of all marriages are between persons of the same sex. Read more here.

 

DON’T LEGALIZE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE, ANGLICAN CHURCH URGES. The Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) has called on the federal government to resist pressure from Western powers to rescind its stand against same-sex marriage in the country. Read more here.

 

GUATEMALAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SANDRA TORRES LEADS ON CONSERVATIVE VALUES OPPOSING SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. In her third run for the presidency, former First Lady Sandra Torres has drafted an evangelical pastor as her running mate and is leaning heavily on her firm commitments to keep abortion and same-sex marriage illegal in Guatemala. Read more here.

 

WILL THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND SPLIT OVER SAME-SEX MARRIAGE? A decade after same-sex marriage was legalised in England and Wales, the Church of England still refuses to allow LGBTQ+ couples to celebrate with a traditional church wedding, but internal splits over proposed reforms threaten to change that church policy. Read more here.

 

NAMIBIA’S LAW AGAINST SAME-SEX MARRIAGE SPARKS CONTROVERSY. Although the new law banning same-sex marriage and punishing their supporters was adopted by the upper house without encountering any opposition, it still needs to be endorsed by the lower house and promulgated by President Hage Geingob to come into force. Read more here.

 

CANDIDATES FOR NEXT BISHOP OF ALBANY ALL PRO-SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. The Albany, N.Y., diocese is the last in the Episcopal Church to prohibit same-sex marriage, but all four candidates for the role of bishop indicated that they would allow same-sex couples to marry in church. Read more here.

 

STATE BARS CATHOLIC COUPLE FROM FOSTERING DUE TO TRADITIONAL BELIEFS ABOUT MARRIAGE AND GENDER. A Catholic couple is suing Massachusetts state officials after allegedly being told they were unable to foster children due to their religious beliefs about marriage and sexuality, according to court documents. Read more here.

 

MARRIED PEOPLE MOST LIKELY TO IDENTIFY AS ‘VERY HAPPY’: REPORT. A new study reveals that married people have consistently been more likely to characterize themselves as “very happy” than non-married people over the course of nearly a half-century, with marital status serving as the most significant determinant of an individual’s level of happiness. Read more here.

 

MANY YOUNG ADULTS SAY MARRIAGE IS AN ‘OUTDATED TRADITION’: SURVEY. While a significant number of millennials and Gen Z’ers view marriage as an “outdated tradition” and are opting for cohabitation instead, many still plan to marry someday, according to a survey by the Thriving Center of Psychology. Read more here.

 

SAME-SEX MARRIAGE BILL ADVANCES IN NAVAJO NATION COUNCIL. The Navajo Nation Council in 2005 passed a resolution to ban same-sex marriage, but a new measure passed by the tribal council would reverse much of that measure. Read more here.

 

LITHUANIA DEBATES THE LEGALIZATION OF SAME-SEX PARTNERSHIPS. The Parliament has extended its current session in order to debate a number of sensitive and potentially dangerous issues, including same-sex partnerships or civil unions. Read more here.

 

NEPAL’S INTERIM VERDICT ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE—A CLARION CALL FOR INDIA? The Nepal Supreme Court’s recent ruling requiring the government to register same-sex relationships is expected to have an impact on an upcoming verdict regarding a similar plea at the Supreme Court of India. Read more here.

 

INDIA COULD SOON BECOME THE SECOND COUNTRY IN ASIA TO LEGALIZE SAME-SEX MARRIAGE. The Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage is expected soon in this conservative nation where Muslim personal law and Hindu law do not permit marriage between same-sex persons. Read more here.

 

REFERENDUM ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE SUFFERS SETBACK IN BRITISH VIRGIN ISLANDS. The government’s planned referendum on same-sex marriages has encountered delays, as the government addresses the need for additional legislative amendments to make the referendum smoother. Read more here.

 

MICHIGAN SUPREME COURT EXPANDS PARENTAL RIGHTS FOR SAME-SEX PARTNERS. The court broke new ground in the dispute over parental rights by saying a woman can seek custody of her partner’s child who was born before their same-sex relationship ended. Read more here.

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