In my previous article I was saying that the State of Illinois will start legalizing the civil unions beginning with the next year, so I thought it would also be nice to focus a bit on Europe and make a list with the european countries where you can legally get married if you`re gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered, and if not married, at least to have your civil union or registered partnership recognized.

I must say that I totally agree with Ricky Martin when  it comes to gay marriage. When he was invited to Larry King Live, Larry King asked Ricky Martin if he would get married, and he said yes, but he would like his gay marriage to be recognized in his country, because otherwise he could get married anywhere if he wanted something strictly symbolic. He`s right, marriage is not a symbolic thing, it also involves a series of rights which are gived to the newly weds, and many other things that so far, are mostly considered heterosexual privileges, unfortunately.

So, here`s the list of the european countries which have legalized gay marriage, civil unions and registered partnerships:

Gay Marriage is legal and recognized in the following countries:

1. Spain;
2. Portugal (only unregistered cohabitation was recognized until this year, when the law regarding gay marriage passed);
3. Norway;
4. Sweden;
5. Netherlands;
6. Iceland;
7. Belgium.

Civil Unions and Registered Partnerships are recognized in the following countries:

1. U.K.;
2. Germany;
3. France;
4. Hungary;
5. Finland;
6. Denmark;
7. Austria;
8. Czech Republic;
9. Andorra;
10. Luxembourg;
11. Ireland;
12. Slovenia;
13. Switzerland.

In Croatia, neither gay marriage nor civil unions or registered partnerships are recognized,  but instead it is recognized the unregistered cohabitation. For the other 30 countries of Europe that were not mentioned on this list, there is no recognition of gay marriage, civil unions, registered partnerships or unregistered cohabitation whatsoever. However, we`re all looking forward to changing something in these countries as well, and hopefully LGBT people can get married in these countries as well in the near future.

Related posts:

1. The State of Illinois Will Recognize Same-Sex Unions
2. Marriage - A human right, not a heterosexual privilege! 5 reasons to legalize Gay Marriages