Same-sex marriage

This archive tracks legal victories, policy shifts, and cultural milestones that have expanded marriage equality around the world. From landmark court rulings to legislative breakthroughs, these stories document real progress for LGBTQ+ couples and families.

Good news for LGBTQ rights, for article on Thailand marriage equality, for article on conversion therapy ban, for article on same-sex partnership rights, for article on forced outing of queer students, for article on Greece same-sex marriage

Thailand becomes first Southeast Asian country to legalize marriage equality

By / / Good News For Humankind

Marriage equality arrived in Thailand on January 22, 2025, when the first same-sex weddings became legal — including a mass ceremony in Bangkok for more than a thousand couples. The new law gives same-sex partners the same rights heterosexual couples have always had: adopting children together, inheriting estates, and making medical decisions for each other. It also rewrites Thailand’s civil code in gender-neutral language, swapping “husband” and “wife” for “partner” throughout. For activists like Siritata Ninlapruek, who spent over a decade pushing for this, the win felt almost unreal. Thailand is now the third country in Asia to fully recognize same-sex marriage, offering a hopeful reference point for advocates across a region where many neighbors still criminalize same-sex relationships.

Good news for LGBTQ rights, for article on Thailand marriage equality, for article on conversion therapy ban, for article on same-sex partnership rights, for article on forced outing of queer students, for article on Greece same-sex marriage

South Korea’s top court upholds the rights of people in same-sex relationships in historic ruling

By / / Good News For Humankind

South Korea’s Supreme Court just ruled that same-sex couples must receive the same National Health Insurance spousal benefits as heterosexual couples — declaring that denying them violates “human dignity and the right to pursue happiness.” The case began when So Seong-wook and Kim Yong-min sued after the insurer revoked coverage it had already granted, then demanded repayment. Their five-year legal journey ended with the country’s highest court extending a concrete, practical protection to partners who previously had no legal pathway to claim it. While South Korea still doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage, the court’s use of dignity-based language matters beyond this case. It’s a reminder that progress on equality often arrives one couple, one ruling at a time — opening doors that legislatures haven’t yet been willing to.

Dominica flag, for article on Dominica same-sex decriminalization

Dominica’s High Court ends the country’s ban on being gay in historic ruling

By / / Good News For Humankind

Dominica’s High Court has struck down a colonial-era ban on consensual same-sex activity between adults, with Justice Kimberly Cenac-Phulgence finding the law violated constitutional rights to liberty, privacy, and free expression. The case was brought by an anonymous gay man who described living in constant fear of prosecution simply for who he loved — and his courage now extends protection to everyone in the country. Dominica becomes the sixth anglophone Caribbean nation in the past decade to dismantle these 19th-century British-imposed statutes, joining Belize, Barbados, and others, with a similar case pending in St. Lucia. Advocates were quick to note that homophobia won’t vanish overnight, but the law itself is no longer the enemy — a quiet, powerful shift rippling across the region.

Good news for LGBTQ rights, for article on Thailand marriage equality, for article on conversion therapy ban, for article on same-sex partnership rights, for article on forced outing of queer students, for article on Greece same-sex marriage

Greece legalizes same-sex marriage

By / / Good News For Humankind

Same-sex marriage is now legal in Greece after parliament voted 176 to 76, making it the first Orthodox-majority country in the world to embrace marriage equality. The new law also gives same-sex couples the right to adopt, ending years of legal limbo for families who had been raising children without basic protections like inheritance, hospital visitation, or shared parental authority. Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, whose own party was split, framed the vote around children who had long been invisible to the law finally finding their place. Passed despite strong opposition from the Greek Orthodox Church, the decision is a quiet but powerful signal that deep religious tradition and full legal equality can coexist.

Waving a pride flag

Thailand to legalize same-sex marriage

By / / Good news links

The Southeast Asian country will become the third Asian nation, after Taiwan and Nepal, to legalize same-sex marriage. A new amendment to its Civil and Commercial Code will change the words “men and women” and “husband and wife” to “individuals” and “marriage partners.” The next step will be an amendment to the country’s pension fund law to recognize same-sex couples.

Hong Kong skyline at sunset

Hong Kong courts rule in same-sex couples’ favor

By / / Good news links

Hong Kong’s Court of Appeals ruled in favor of two same-sex couples in separate cases involving their rights to own and rent public housing. While same-sex marriage is not legal in the city, the rulings follow other decisions that have firmly established same-sex couples’ rights to equal treatment under the law.