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
Same-sex marriage in Norway whether the bill had enough votes to pass. The first parliamentary hearing, including the vote, was held on 11 June 2008, with the lower house approving by 84 votes to 41 a bill that allowed same-sex couples to marry. This came after the Norwegian Government proposed a marriage law on 14 March 2008, that would give lesbian and gay couples the same rights as heterosexuals, including church weddings (although the law does not oblige any religious community to marry same-sex couples), full joint adoption and assisted pregnancies. The new legislation amended the definition of civil marriage to make it gender-neutral.