LGBT rights in the Americas

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World laws on homosexuality

Laws Regarding Same-Sex Partnerships in the United States Same sex marriages Same sex unions Foreign marriage licenses recognized Domestic Partnerships Statute bans Same-Sex Marriage Constitution bans Same-Sex Marriage Constitution bans Same-Sex Marriage and Union

Legal status of adoption by same-sex couples in North America Gay Adoption legal Step-child adoption Gay Adoption illegal Unknown/Ambiguous

Country	Laws against homosexuality	Penalty	Same-sex Unions	Laws against discrimination	Adoption	Comments
[edit] North America
Anguilla	No	-	No	-	-	Anguilla is a British Dependant Territory. Homosexuality between two consenting adults in private was expressly legalised under the Caribbean Territories (Criminal Law) Order, 2000.
Antigua and Barbuda	Yes	15 years	-	No	-	British laws are not applied to Antigua & Barbuda, and therefore the Sexual Offenses Act 1995 criminalizing homosexual acts, is enforceable.^[1]
Aruba	No	-	Can not be performed, but is recognized	Yes	Yes	The Dutch Government states that as part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Aruba is obliged to recognize civil unions and same-sex marriage as valid. However, Aruba cannot perform SSM's, but has to be recognised by order of the Supreme Court in 2007 LGBT rights in Aruba
Bahamas	No, same-gender sex "in Public" is a 20 year jail sentence and the age of consent "in private" for homosexual sex is 18, 16 for heterosexual sex ^[2]	-	-	No	-	See LGBT rights in the Bahamas.
Barbados	Yes	Life	-	No	-	Laws currently under review - technically still illegal, but not enforced ^[3].
Belize	Yes*	10 years	-	No	-	*Homosexuality re-criminalized from 2003. See ^[4] and also under section 26 ii (d) of the immigration act 1958, "Any prostitute or homosexual or any person who may be living on or receiving or may have been living on or receiving the proceeds of prostitution or homosexual behavior." is outlawed from incoming to Belize. See ^[5].
Bermuda	No, age of consent 18 just for male-male sex, 16 for others from 1994 ^[6] - Under review.	-	Considered	Considered*	-	*AD in consideration ^[7].
British Virgin Islands	No	-	No	Yes; discrimination on grounds of sexuality is prohibited under the 2007 Constitution	-	British Virgin Islands is a British Dependant Territory. Homosexuality between two consenting adults in private was expressly legalised under the Caribbean Territories (Criminal Law) Order, 2000.
Canada	No, age of consent (The "age of protection" as it is called in Canada) 18 for anal sex under section 159, 16 for all non-anal sex, regardless of sexuality of the participants, from 1988 ^[8]	-	Same-sex marriage	Yes	In 8 Provinces and 1 territory ^[9]^[10]	Anti-discriminatory laws provided by constitution and Egan v. Canada; in all provincial/territorial civil rights codes since Vriend v. Alberta. Common-law marriage since M. v. H., 1999; SSM since Civil Marriage Act, 2005. See LGBT rights in Canada.
Cayman Islands	No	-	No	Yes	-	Cayman Islands is a British Dependent Territory. Homosexuality between two consenting adults in private was expressly legalised under the Caribbean Territories (Criminal Law) Order, 2000.
Costa Rica	No	-	Considered	Yes*	-	*Anti-discrimination law since 1998. See [1]; Same-sex marriages and scandalous sodomy is banned. See LGBT rights in Costa Rica
Cuba	No	-	-	No	-	See LGBT rights in Cuba.
Dominica	Yes	10 years	-	No	-	From 1995 to 2000, 35 persons were arrested for the crime of buggery ^[11].
Dominican Republic	No	-	-	No	-	-
El Salvador	No	-	No	No	No	It is highly discriminated by society being homosexual making uncomfortable for people to come out
Greenland	No	-	Yes	Yes	-	See Civil Union.
Grenada	Male only	10 years	-	No	-	-
Guadeloupe	No	-	Pacte civil de solidarité	Yes	-	Guadeloupe is a ' 'Département Français d'Outre-mer, so French Law is in force. See LGBT rights in France.
Guatemala	No	-	-	Yes	-	AD in Youth and Childhood Act since 1997.
Haiti	No	-	-	No	-	See LGBT rights in Haiti.
Honduras	No	-	-	No	-	Same-sex marriages and adoption banned in the Constitution since 2005. See LGBT rights in Honduras.
Jamaica	Male only	10 years hard labor	-	No	-	Jamaica has been quoted as the worst place in all of the Americas for LGBT people. See LGBT rights in Jamaica.
Martinique	No	-	Pacte civil de solidarité.	Yes	-	Martinique is a Département Français d'Outre-mer, so French Law is in force. See LGBT rights in France.
Mexico	No	-	Civil unions (Mexico City and Coahuila)	Yes*	-	*Mexican Congress reformed the Constitution in 2001, to forbid discrimination of any kind; in 2003, this change produced the Federal Law to Prevent Discrimination that forbids discrimination by sexual orientation. Civil unions (Mexico City and Coahuila). See LGBT rights in Mexico.
Montserrat	No	-	No	-	-	Montserrat is a British Dependant Territory. Homosexuality between two consenting adults in private was expressly legalised under the Caribbean Territories (Criminal Law) Order, 2000.
Netherlands Antilles	No	-	Can not be performed, only recognised	Yes	Yes	As part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, civil unions and same-sex marriage are fully recognized as valid, however, they cannot be performed in the Netherlands Antilles themselves. See LGBT rights in the Netherlands.
Nicaragua	No	-	-	Yes (since 2008)	-	Homosexuality has been re-legalized - With Article 204 abolished under a new Criminal Code since 1 March, 2008. See LGBT rights in Nicaragua.
Panama	?	?	-	No	-	Unknown if homosexuality is legal or illegal. See LGBT rights in Panama.
Puerto Rico	No	-	-	Considered*	-	*Civil unions considered and debated. Puerto Rico is a devoutly Christian island, and homosexuality is not practiced openly. See LGBT rights in Puerto Rico.
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Male only	10 years	-	No	-	-
Saint Lucia	Male only	Fine-10 years	-	No	-	-
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Yes	Fine-10 years	-	No	-	-
Trinidad and Tobago	Yes*	25 years	No	No	No	*Applies to both men and women. Also under Article 8 (18/1) of the Immigration Act, homosexual men and women are not allowed to enter the country. ^[12] and LGBT rights in Trinidad and Tobago.
Turks and Caicos Islands	No	-	No	-	-	Turks and Caicos Islands is a British Dependant Territory. Homosexuality between two consenting adults in private was expressly legalised under the Caribbean Territories (Criminal Law) Order, 2000.
United States	No	-	Civil Unions: Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New Hampshire. Domestic partnerships: California, Maine, Oregon, Washington, District of Columbia, and Hawaii. Same-sex marriage: Only in Massachusetts and California.	In 20 states*	10 states	*13 states cover sexual orientation and gender identity, 7 only cover sexual orientation and 30 do not cover either Human Rights Campaign LGBT rights in the United States.
[edit] South America
Country	Laws against homosexuality	Penalty	Same-sex Unions	Laws against discrimination	Adoption	Comments
Argentina	No	-	Civil unions in Buenos Aires City and Rio Negro Province.	Yes	No	There are no national anti-discriminatory laws, however, the cities of Buenos Aires and Rosario have specific laws protecting against gay discrimination since 1996. Debating Same sex marriage. See LGBT rights in Argentina.
Bolivia	No	-	-	Yes	No	There are no national anti-discriminatory laws, however, the citie of La Paz have specific laws protecting against gay discrimination since 2004
Brazil	No	-	Civil unions in Rio Grande do Sul.	Yes*	No	*Constitutional protection for sexual orientation in some states of Brazil. See LGBT rights in Brazil.
Chile	No, age of consent 18 for same-sex sexual activity, 14 for opposite-sex sexual activity.	-	Considered	Considered*	No	*AD in consideration. See LGBT rights in Chile.
Colombia	No	-	Civil union. Registered same-sex couples have the same pension, social security and property rights as registered heterosexaul couples	Yes	No	There are national anti-discriminatory laws since 2007. See LGBT rights in Colombia.
Ecuador	No	-	No	Yes	No	Sexual orientation protection under the Constitution and in legislation. See LGBT rights in Ecuador.
Falkland Islands	No	-	Civil partnership	Yes	Yes	Falkland Islands comes under British law. See LGBT rights in the United Kingdom.
French Guiana	No	-	Yes Pacte civil de solidarité.	Yes	No	French Law applies. See LGBT rights in France.
Guyana	Male only*	Life	-	Considered*	No	The only country in South America to be still illegal, with life in prison. Sexual Orientation protection was about to be amended into the constitution of Guyana, then the council of churches stopped this from happening in 2003 ^[13].
Paraguay	No	-	No	No	No
Peru	No	-	-	Yes	No	National anti-discrimination and protections in legislation for sexual orientation.
Suriname	No, age of consent 18 for same-sex activity, 16 for opposite-sex activity - Section 302 is rarely enforced ^[14]	-	No	No	No	See LGBT rights in Suriname.
Uruguay	No	-	Civil union	Yes	No	Discrimination is outlawed and Civil unions are provided for both same and mixed sex couples ^[15], ^[16] and LGBT rights in Uruguay.
Venezuela	No	-	No	Yes	No	The 1999 Organic labor Law provides protection for LGBT people. See LGBT rights in Venezuela.