In 2001 the Netherlands made history by becoming the first country in the world to legalise same sex marriage (SSM); this feat was soon followed by their closest neighbour, Belgium. Since then several other countries have also amended their laws to permit same-sex couples to marry; they include: Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, Brazil, France, Uruguay, New Zealand, Great Britain, and Luxembourg. In addition, 36 states in the US, at present, allow SSM and over 70 percent of its citizens live in places where gay couples can marry. There’s a good chance Ireland will soon also join this list. In December the Government announced that a referendum on legalising SSM will take place sometime in May. Public opinion in support of the move has remained steady over the past couple of years: one Irish Times /Ipsos MRBI poll taken just before the Cabinet announcement said that 71 percent support SSM and just 17 percent are against. I
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