Marriage Equality Availability Hits Global Landmark

According to figures compiled by an Australian activist, over one billion people worldwide now live in jurisdictions with legal same-sex marriage. Frontiers reports:

The analysis comes from Melbourne-based LGBT activist Tony Pitman, and reveals that the world crossed the billion-mark just a few weeks ago.

“The turning point came a few weeks ago when Colombia and then several Mexican states all achieved marriage equality within a few days.That pushed us up over a billion for the first time in history,” said Pitman. “When you think that the first ever same-sex marriages took place in the Netherlands in 2001, that means we’ve gone from zero to a billion in just 15 years. That’s an extraordinary rate of social progress. We’re witnessing an historic shift on a truly global scale.”

The U.S. is the most populous country to boast marriage equality, with 328 million citizens. It’s then followed by Brazil, with 206 million, and France, with 67 million.

Some might argue that Pitman’s number should be a bit higher because while not all of Mexico’s 31 states have approved same-sex marriage locally, marriages conducted in states that have done so are recognized nationwide. See his figures here.  And remember that one billion is only about 14% of the global population.