LGBT community: Countries where same-sex marriage is legal

June 26, 2015 was a historic day in the history of the United States of America, as the Supreme Court recognized same-sex marriage across the country. The move was recognized by the Supreme Court as a historic victory for the LGBT community, who have strived to make these laws a reality. Here is a list of countries where same-sex marriage is legal:

The Netherlands: Same-sex marriage in this country has been legal since April 1, 2001. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to pass a law on this matter. Gay rights activists in this country have been protesting since the mid-1980s before Parliament decided to create a special committee to discuss the possibilities of same-sex marriage in the country. The bill was passed by the House of Representatives by 109 votes to 33 votes.

Belgium: On June 1, 2003, Belgium became only the second country in the world to legalize same sex marriages. According to statistics, a total of 21,391 same-sex marriages took place in the country, which is 2.49 percent of all marriages in the country between 2004 and 2013.

Canada: Canada became the first country outside of Europe and the fourth overall to legalize same-sex marriage, with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act, which brought gender neutrality in marriages. The court has already made same-sex marriage legal in 8 out of 10 provinces and 1 out of 3 regions. According to statistics, 3,000 couples across Canada had already married before the law was passed on July 20, 2005.

Argentina: Argentina became the first country in Latin America and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage. It was the tenth country in the world to do so. In July 2010 when the law was under consideration, it met with strong opposition from the Archbishop of Buenos Aires.

New Zealand: A bill for the legalization of same sex marriages was passed in the House of Representatives on April 17, 2013, and was passed by 77 votes to 44 votes. On April 19, 2013, same sex marriages became legal in New Zealand. It took the authorities about 4 months to enforce this rule in the country, due to the time it took for the authorities to make changes to the marriage license and other related documents.

Ireland: Same sex marriages in Ireland became legal on November 16, 2015. This measure was signed into law courtesy of the Thirty-Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland. The Marriage Act 2015 was implemented to recognize marriage, regardless of the gender of the partners. Civil partnerships gave same-sex couples rights that were similar to, but not equal to, those enjoyed by those couples in a civil marriage.

So far, 21 countries around the world have legalized same-sex marriage and other countries are expected to follow suit in the coming years.