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 Not every country has a sexual minority of gays and lesbians. This does not mean that there is no homosexual behavior, but some countries are so tolerant that there is no need to organize such a minority, and other countries are so repressive that the organization is impossible. However, in recent decades, there has been a world-wide general trend toward greater sexual tolerance in many parts of the world. In part, this has also been due to the realization by health authorities that no effective AIDS prevention is possible as long as homosexual behavior is illegal. As long as large numbers of people are forced to lie about the source of their infection, no effective prevention strategy can be designed, and the risk increases for everyone else.
While many gays and lesbians are still in the first phases of their struggle, others have achieved remarkable sucesses. Indeed, in some Western countries the most important remaining issue is now that of same-sex marriage. Its opponents argue that the true meaning of marriage is the raising of children, and that it should therefore be reserved for partners of different sex. However, since marriage has always been permitted for post-menopausal women, this argument is unlikely to prevail in the long run. Moreover, many homosexual men and women do have children in heterosexual relationships and want to share in their upbringing even after a separation. Lesbian couples can and do become parents through donor insemination. In view of these realities, some countries have now given same-sex unions the full status of marriages: South Africa, Canada, Belgium, Spain, and the Netherlands. Other countries grant some, but not all privileges of marriage to registered same-sex civil unions: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Finland, France, Germany, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand. Still other countries recognize unregistered same-sex partnerships in some legal fashion. In the USA, there is a great deal of resistance to same-sex marriage, but some of the states are supportive in various degrees. The situation is fluid, and thus it is not possible to provide a definite list. New developments may be recorded in special web sites.
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