Same-sex marriage in Belgium 14 December and published on 23 December 1999 made the Act of statutory cohabitation go into effect on 1 January 2000. During 1999, the PS (French-speaking Social Democrats) and Ecolo (French-speaking Greens) also announced they agreed to legalise same-sex marriage. At that point, the only remaining party in Government that opposed same-sex marriage was the French-speaking liberal PRL (later merged into MR), mainly because it was opposed to adoption rights for same-sex couples. PRL agreed not to block same-sex marriage if adoption rights are excluded. As the first same-sex marriage in the Netherlands was performed on 1 April 2001, the
Recognition of same-sex unions in Colorado Recognition of same-sex unions in Colorado The U.S. state of Colorado has provided limited recognition of same-sex unions in the form of "designated beneficiary agreements" since July 1, 2009, and as "civil unions" since May 1, 2013. Same-sex marriage was legalized on October 7, 2014. Designated beneficiary agreements grant limited rights, such as hospital and jail visitation rights, control of funeral arrangements, death benefits, and the right of a surviving partner to be recognized as next of kin. Civil unions provide rights comparable to those enjoyed by married different-sex couples. When Colorado enacted civil union legislation in March 2013, effective