We’re very happy to report that the Uruguay Senate yesterday passed a same-sex marriage bill by 23 votes to 8. The bill has already been passed by the Chamber of Deputies (by 81 votes out of 87 Deputies present). It will now go back to the Chamber of Deputies for approval of a Senate amendment, and then to the President for signing.

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/04/02/world/americas/uruguay-same-sex-marriage/

The bill is expected to come into effect in a few months’ time, when Uruguay will become the second South American country with same-sex marriage nationwide.

Meanwhile, the House of Commons is expected to spend two more days debating the same-sex marriage bill for England and Wales, shortly after the Queen’s Speech starts the new year of Parliament on 8^th May. The bill will then go to the Lords for four stages of debate / amendment.

Here in Scotland, the Scottish Government are currently considering the responses to the draft Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill consultation which closed two weeks ago. We expect that the bill will be introduced in the Scottish Parliament in the summer.

There are same-sex marriage bills progressing rapidly through the Parliaments of France and New Zealand. The places that already allow solemnisation of same-sex marriages are currently:

North America

• Canada
• Parts of the US: Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, Washington state, District of Columbia, plus three tribal jurisdictions: Coquille, Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Suquamish
• Parts of Mexico: Mexico City, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo

South America

• Argentina
• Parts of Brazil: Alagoas, Bahia, Brazilian Federal District, Ceará, Espírito Santo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Piauí, São Paulo, Sergipe

Europe

• Iceland
• Norway
• Sweden
• Denmark
• The Netherlands
• Belgium
• Spain
• Portugal

Africa

• South Africa