SAME SEX MARRIAGE (Syllabus: GS Paper 1 – Social Issues)

Context: Thailand's Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, marking a historic step towards becoming Southeast Asia's first country to enact such legislation.

Same Sex Marriage

• Definition: Marriage between two men or two women is the practice known as same-sex marriage.
• Global Regulation: In most countries worldwide, laws, religious beliefs, and customs have regulated same-sex marriage.
• International Recognition: Over 30 countries legally perform and recognize marriages between same-sex couples as of 2022.
• Recent Legalization: Mexico is the most recent country to legalize same-sex marriage.
• Indian Legal Framework: The right to marry is not expressly recognized either as a fundamental or constitutional right under the Indian Constitution.
• In India: No legal recognition of same-sex marriages and no constitutional or fundamental right to civil unions.

oRight to marry: No fundamental right to marry under the Constitution.

oRight to adopt: Queer couples do not have the right to adopt.

• Global: 35 Countries.

oThe latest being Andorra (in February 2023) and Nepal (in June 2023). The Netherlands was the first country to legalise same-sex marriages in 2001.