Same-sex marriage in Belgium
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| Same-sex marriage |
| Performed nationwide in: |
| Belgium |
| Netherlands |
| Performed in some regions in: |
| Canada: BC, MB, NL, NS, ON, QC, SK, YT |
| United States: MA |
| Other countries and regions: |
| Australia |
| Canada: AB, NB, NT, NU, PE |
| France |
| Ireland |
| Romania |
| South Africa |
| Spain |
| United States: CA NY |
| See also |
| Civil union |
| Domestic partnership |
| Edit this box (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/wiki.phtml?title=Template:SSM&action=edit) |
On January 30, 2003, Belgium became the second country in the world to legally recognize same-sex marriage. As in the Netherlands (the first country to legalize same-sex marriage), this was achieved when the Christian Democrats were not in power. However, the law does not permit adoption by same-sex partners; and as birth within a same-sex marriage doesn't imply affiliation, the same-sex spouse of the biological parent has no way to become the legal parent.
Originally, Belgium allowed the marriages of foreign same-sex couples only if their country of origin also allowed these unions. New legislation enacted in October 2004, however, now permits any couples to marry in Belgium if at least one of the spouses has lived in the country for a minimum of three months. (1) (http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/10/1011045belgWed.htm)
According to the Belgian Official Journal, approximately 300 same-sex couples were married between June 2003 and April 2004 (245 in 2003 and 55 in 2004). This constituted 1.2 percent of the total number of marriages in Belgium during that period. Two thirds of the married couples were gay male couples; the remainder were lesbian couples.
See also
External links
- News article from PlanetOut (http://www.planetout.com/news/article.html?date=2003/01/30/1)es:Matrimonio del mismo sexo en Bélgica