January:
Dutch lawmakers voted to expand Article 1 of the Kingdom of the Netherlands’ constitution which will explicitly ban discrimination based on sexual orientation as well as disability, according to LGBTQ Nation.
February:
According to The Guardian, same-sex couples in South Korea are now entitled to the same spousal health coverage that heterosexual couples receive thanks to a ruling by a Seoul high court in South Korea. Although same-sex marriage is still illegal in South Korea, this is the first legal recognition of LGBTQ+ couples in the country.
March:
Here at home, around 400 students in Idaho joined together and left their classrooms in a “We Say Gay” walkout in protest of the legislative bills passed against LGBTQ+ youth in the nation, reported the Des Moines Register. The protests followed the passing of bills such as Senate Study Bill 1145 which would require staff to inform a student’s guardian if they are transgender.
April:
According to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, GLAAD, the Cook Islands have decriminalized homosexuality, with the passing of The Crimes (Sexual Offences) Amendment Bill 2023. Prior to the passing of the bill, there was a punishment of up to five years in prison if a man was caught having sexual intercourse with another man.
May:
Same-sex couples in Taiwan now have the legal right to adoption, according to the Washington Post. Before this, same-sex couples could only jointly adopt children that were biologically related to them. Taiwan also became the first Asian country to recognize same-sex marriage in 2019.
June:
In June of 2023, both Estonia and Nepal legalized same-sex marriage. According to Human Rights Watch, in Estonia, the bill expanded on the 2016 Family Law Act, and come Jan. 1, 2024, same-sex couples in this Baltic country will have the right to marry as well as adopt. This will also make Estonia the first Central European country to allow same-sex marriage.
In Nepal, following a Supreme Court ruling led by Justice Til Prasad Shrestha, same-sex couples will soon be allowed to legally register their marriages, according to Human Rights Watch. Nepalese civil code still lists marriage as being between a man and a woman, but same-sex couples in the country will be allowed to register until legislation can be passed to amend that law.
July:
Although it is not illegal to be gay in Peru, following a high court ruling, same-sex unions can now be legally registered in Peru’s public records, reported Reuters. Peru stands out as one of the last South American countries that has yet to legalize same-sex marriage, diverging from the path taken by countries like Argentina and Brazil.
National Public Radio, NPR, reported that Argentina was the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide in 2010 and Brazil followed three years later in 2013 according to Outright International.
August:
In Spain, Carla Antonelli became the country’s first openly trans senator. According to the Pink News, Antonelli previously served as the country’s first openly transgender member of parliament in 2011 and joined the Spanish senate after an inconclusive parliamentary election in July.
September:
Following countries such as Estonia and Nepal, Cuba approved to legalize same-sex marriage as part of a new family code, according to the Washington Post. In addition to the legalization of same-sex marriage, same-sex couples in Cuba will also be allowed to adopt.