Same-sex marriage in Belgium Same-sex marriage in Belgium On 1 June 2003, Belgium became the second country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage, after the Netherlands. "Statutory cohabitation", open to any two legally consenting cohabiting persons, is also possible since 1 January 2000. In 1995, a bill was introduced in Parliament to provide for a legal framework of "cohabitation agreements". It was mostly intended as a response to the lowering marriage rates, rather than giving rights to same-sex couples. In 1998, the bill was changed to "statutory cohabitation" (; ; ) and finally voted on. The Chamber of Representatives approved it by a
Same-sex marriage in Montana Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) appealed that decision to the Montana Supreme Court on August 4, arguing that the marriage amendment does not preclude providing rights other than the name "marriage" to same-sex couples. On December 17, 2012, that court in a 4-3 decision denied the plaintiffs request to find Montana's entire "statutory scheme" unconstitutional, but invited them to renew their suit in District Court by specifying the statutes they were challenging. 436 same-sex couples married in Montana in the first year after the state's same-sex marriage ban was struck down. The Montana Supreme Court in "Snetsinger v. Montana University System"