Same-sex union legislation marriages performed in the Netherlands are recognized in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten. Whether same-sex couples should be allowed to marry has been and remains the topic of debate worldwide. Thirty-four countries and four jurisdictions worldwide have passed constitutional amendments that explicitly prohibit the legal recognition of same-sex marriage and sometimes other forms of legal unions as well. Seventeen countries and twenty-nine jurisdictions worldwide have authorized civil unions or unregistered cohabitation for same-sex couples as an alternative to marriage. The legal name of those unions as well as the number of rights that they provide can vary greatly. The first
LGBT rights in the Czech Republic soldiers, and allows homosexuals to serve openly. Homosexual prostitution was decriminalized in 1990. There is some legal recognition of same-sex couples. Unregistered cohabitation has been possible since 2001. The Czech Republic has granted "persons living in a common household" inheritance and succession rights in housing, as well as hospital and prison visitation rights similar to married heterosexual couples. A bill legalizing registered partnership, with some of the rights of marriage, was rejected four times, in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2005. However, on 16 December 2005, a new registered partnership bill was passed by the Czech House of Representatives; it was