Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands Same-sex marriage in the Netherlands In the Netherlands, same-sex marriage ( or commonly "homohuwelijk") has been legal since 1 April 2001. The Netherlands was the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. Unregistered partnerships or informal cohabitation is when same-sex or opposite-sex couples live together as a couple but they choose to keep the legal status of their relationship unregistered or informal. This means all worldwide assets that belong to a single party remain the sole property of the party with no legal entitlement by the other party, whether owned before or acquired during the relationship. This legal
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.