Same-sex marriage is legally recognized nationwide in 21 countries as of June 26, 2015: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Sweden and Uruguay.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday, June 26, 2015 made marriage for same-sex couples legal nationwide, declaring that refusing to grant marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples violates the Constitution. The landmark ruling will produce the most significant change in laws governing matrimony since the court struck down state bans on inter-racial marriage almost 50 years ago.
A total of 36 states now permit gay couples to get married, covering roughly 70 percent of the US population. Today's ruling means the bans must end in the other 14 states -- Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas.
The decision capped a remarkably quick turnaround in public and judicial acceptance of same-sex marraige. In the past 18 months, court rulings struck down marriage bans in rapid succession -- nearly 60 separate decisions in more than half the states.
The grand festival, which opened Israel's Pride Month, took place all across the city with parties and colorful gatherings. The actual parade started in Gan Meir, continued onto the streets of Tel Aviv and ended with a concert by drag queen Conchita Wurst, the Austrian singer who won the 2014 Eurovision.
Mexico's supreme court has ruled it is unconstitutional for Mexican states to bar same-sex marriages. But the court's ruling is considered a "jurisprudential thesis" and does not invalidate any state laws, meaning gay couples denied the right to wed would have to turn to the courts individually. Given the ruling, judges and courts would have to approve same-sex marriages.
The high court ruled that any state law which considers the ultimate purpose of marriage to be "procreation, and or defines (marriage) as celebrated between a man and a woman, is unconstitutional."
"If I was lying on my deathbed and I had kept this secret and never ever did anything about it, I would be lying there saying, 'You just blew your entire life,'" Jenner said.
In a behind-the-scenes look at the Vanity Fair photo shoot, the 65-year-old reality star also talks about time spent training for the decathlon in the 1976 Olympics and how it was a way of avoiding what she was really feeling. "I was probably at the Games because I was running away from a lot of things," Jenner admitted. "Very very proud of the accomplishment -- I don't want to diminish that accomplishment."