Source Record
Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013
Why this source is used
Primary legislation extending marriage to same-sex couples in England and Wales.
Start with the answer
Start with the answer When was homosexuality legalised in the UK? If by legalised you mean partial decriminalisation of sex between men, England and Wales changed the law in 1967. The UK did not reach equality in one step: Scotland, Northern Ireland, age-of-consent reform and later partnership and marriage recognition followed through separate legal routes. Start with the answer When was same-sex marriage legalised in the UK? Same-sex marriage was legalised across the UK in stages, with England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland reaching implementation at different times. Start with the answer How did UK family recognition expand for LGBTQ+ people? It expanded through adoption reforms, civil partnerships and staged marriage equality across UK nations.
Source Status
- Publisher
- The National Archives / legislation.gov.uk
- Type
- legal
- Reliability
- high
- Cited by
- 10 pages
Source Links
Used by Topics
Used by Questions
Used by Laws
Used by Timeline Events
2013-2020 CulturalLegalUK
Equal Marriage Legalised Across the UK
Marriage equality arrived across the UK through staged legal reform. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 received Royal Assent for England and Wales, Scotland legislated through the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014, and Northern Ireland followed through 2019 regulations that took effect in January 2020.
March-December 2014 CulturalLegalUK
Same-Sex Marriage Takes Effect in Great Britain
The first same-sex marriages in England and Wales took place on 29 March 2014 under the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013. Scotland's separate Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 then brought same-sex marriage into Scottish law later that year.
