Denmark:
On June 2, 2006, a majority in Folketinget voted for abolishing a law that since 1997 had banned lesbians from insemination.
The Danish government plan to introduce same-sex marriage in 2012. Same-sex couples will be able to marry on the Church of Denmark premises.
Finland:
Registered partnerships in Finland were created for same-sex couples in 2002. The legislation granting similar rights and responsibilities to same-sex couples as to married opposite-sex couples was passed by the parliament in September 2001 with votes 99-84. In May 2009, the Parliament revised the law allowing couples to adopt the biological children of their partner. Registered partnerships, which are available only to same-sex couples, are registered and dissolved using a procedure similar to that for civil marriage. The legislation also permits joint custody of children and grants immigration rights to a foreign partner.Norway:
Same-sex marriage became legal in Norway on January 1, 2009 when a gender neutral marriage bill was enacted after being passed by the Norwegian legislature in June 2008. Norway became the first Scandinavian country and the sixth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.
Norway has allowed same-sex registered partnerships since the April 30, 1993 act which came into force on August 1, 1993. Norway became the second country to do so, after Denmark, which implemented a registered partnership law in 1989. The first parliamentary hearing, including the vote, was held on June 11, 2008 with the lower house approving by 84 votes to 41 for a bill that allowed same-sex couples to marry. This came after the Norwegian government proposed a marriage law on March 14, 2008 that would give lesbian and gay couples the same rights as heterosexuals, including church weddings, full joint adoption and assisted pregnancy. Click for more infoSweden:
Same-sex marriage in Sweden has been legal since May 1st 2009, following the adoption of a new gender-neutral law on marriage by the Swedish parliament on 1 April 2009, making Sweden the seventh country in the world to open marriage to same sex couples nationwide. Existing registered partnerships will remain in force and can be converted to a marriage if the parties so desire, either through a written application or through a formal ceremony. New registered partnerships will no longer be able to be entered into and marriage will be the only
legally recognized form of union for couples regardless of sex. Click for more info
United Kingdom:
Same-sex marriage is not currently legal in the United Kingdom. Marriage laws vary in the countries of the UK, however they all currently prohibit marriages between same-sex couples. Since 2005, same-sex couples are allowed to enter into civil partnerships, a separate union which provides the legal consequences of marriage.
The government has said it is committed to changing the law in England and Wales to allow gay marriage by 2015.