Luxembourg legalises gay marriage

THE tiny European country of Luxembourg has become the latest nation to approve same-sex marriage.

Luxembourg lawmakers, which includes openly-gay Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, approved changes in its marriage legislation on Wednesday to allow people of the same sex to wed and to adopt children.

The Chamber of Deputies voted 56-4 to adopt the bill, which is reportedly also has some of the fundamental rewrites of Luxembourg’s marriage laws since 1804.

The chamber’s website said the new marriage rules, which includes same-sex marriage, could take effect in early 2015 or six months after their official publication.

Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay allow same-sex marriage nationwide. The US, the United Kingdom and Mexico allow it in some regions.