Same-sex marriage 2010 upon promulgation by the Argentine President. Argentina thus became the first country in Latin America, the second in the Americas, and the tenth in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. Australia became the second nation in Oceania to legalise same-sex marriage when the Australian Parliament passed a bill on 7 December 2017. The bill received royal assent on 8 December, and took effect on 9 December 2017. The law removed the ban on same-sex marriage which previously existed and followed a voluntary postal survey held from 12 September to 7 November 2017, which returned a 61.6% "Yes" vote for
Same-sex marriage in Nova Scotia Same-sex marriage in Nova Scotia Same-sex marriage is legal in Nova Scotia. The province began issuing marriage licences to same-sex couples immediately following a September 24, 2004 court ruling. Nova Scotia became the sixth jurisdiction in Canada (and the ninth worldwide) to legalise same-sex marriage. Prior to 2001, common-law couples, either opposite-sex or same-sex, were not able to adopt. However, in 2001, the Nova Scotia Supreme Court concluded that the provision in the "Adoption Act" that prevented common-law couples from adopting was unconstitutional. The result been that common-law couples, either same-sex or opposite-sex, are now able to adopt children jointly.