Status of same-sex marriage is identical to that of a traditional marriage under the Marriage Act. Both religious and civil officials may refuse to perform same-sex marriages. On 22 July 2010, Argentina became the first country in Latin America to legalise same-sex marriage. The law also allows same-sex couples to adopt. And in many jurisdictions, including the city of Buenos Aires, it is also legal for non-residents and tourists. On 25 October 2011, Brazil's Supreme Court of Justice ruled that two women can enter into civil marriage under the current law, thus overturning the decision of two lower court's ruling against the women. Following
Same-sex marriage Constans issued a law in the Theodosian Code ("C. Th." 9.7.3) prohibiting same-sex marriage in Rome and ordering execution for those so married. Historians variously trace the beginning of the modern movement in support of same-sex marriage to anywhere from around the 1970s to the 1990s. In 1989, Denmark became the first country to recognize a legal relationship for same-sex couples, establishing registered partnerships, which gave those in same-sex relationships "most rights of married heterosexuals, but not the right to adopt or obtain joint custody of a child". In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country to establish same-sex marriage