A new law granting marriage equality came into effect in Latvia.
Interestingly, legislators actually changed the Latvian constitution in 2005 to define marriage as only allowed between a man and a woman. But 46 LGBTQIA couples challenged courts to recognize them as a family unit in the eyes of the law. So in November 2023, the Latvian parliament voted to formally legislate same-sex civil unions.
With this new law, LGBTQIA people can establish a partnership by appearing before a notary to certify their close personal relationship, shared household, and commitment to support and care for each other.
With the new law, married LGBTQIA people will have hospital visiting rights, and receive tax and social security benefits. The law is still limited, nonetheless, and bars married LGBTQIA people from adopting. There are also issues with accepting inheritance.
With this development, there are now only five EU countries where people in same-sex relationships cannot register civil unions: Bulgaria, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
