Wed in the World: An Overview of Global Marriage Equality News

For the latest overview of global marriage equality news, we look at recent happenings in Australia, England, Mexico and more.

Alberta

Ricardo Miranda made headlines when he married fiance Christopher Brown. Miranda, a 42-year old cabinet minister, became Alberta’s first cabinet minister in a same-sex marriage at a ceremony at the Glenbow Museum in Calgary shortly after Christmas. The news was announced on social media with a post that read “He asked. I said YES!!! #loveislove #engaged” Same-sex marriage has been legal in Alberta since July 20, 2005.

Australia

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released data indicating that 3,149 same-sex weddings took place between December 9 through June 30 of 2018 as a result of monumental amendments to the Marriage Act, which came into full force on December 9 when a national postal survey showed 61.6% of the population was ready for same-sex marriage. The statistics showed that New South Wales hosted 34.6% of the weddings, followed by Victoria with 26.2%.

England

British rom-com Four Weddings and a Funeral will have a sequel called One Red Nose Day and a Wedding, set to air on BBC One on March 15, 2019. The follow-up, currently in production, reunites the cast of Four Weddings and a Funeral, including Hugh Grant, Andie MacDowell, Kristin Scott Thomas and more for the first time in twenty-five years. Rumor has it the sequel will feature a gay wedding. Will it be John Hannah’s character, “Matthew”? Time will tell. The sequel follows Red Nose Day Actually, the popular 2017 British romantic comedy television sequel to the film Love Actually that came out on Red Nose Day in 2017.

Mexico

Same-sex marriage is legal in just 12 of Mexico’s 31 states (and in Mexico City), but the country recently made an important move towards marriage equality by recognizing a couples’ wedding in the United States. Daniel Berezowsky and Jaime Chávez Alor were married at the Mexican consul general’s Upper East Side pad. The couple was initially denied a marriage license but fought the ruling and won in the Mexican courts and were married on November 26, 2018. The next day, the Consulate of Mexico in New York issued a congratulatory statement announcing the first approved same-sex marriage, stating: “On the afternoon of Monday, November 26, [at] the Residence of Mexico in this city, the first equal marriage was officiated in a Representation of Mexico Abroad, between two nationals.”

In his capacity as Justice of the Peace, the Consul General of Mexico in New York, Emb. Diego Gómez Pickering, joined the happy couple, who are originally from Mexico City. He wished them success,while also highlighting the relevance of the event, “which paves the way for Mexican couples of the same sex who wish to legally join in marriage at an Embassy or Consulate of our country.”

Oklahoma

Sara Cunningham, a 54-year-old mother of two, publicly offered to stand in for gay couples whose parents refuse to attend their weddings. In a Facebook post, Cunningham stated “PSA. If you need a mom to attend your same-sex wedding because your biological mom won’t. Call me. I’m there. I’ll be your biggest fan. I’ll even bring the bubbles.” Cunningham also founded Free Mom Hugs, a non-profit dedicated to giving support and educational services to parents of the LGBTQ community. Cunningham published her memoir, How We Sleep At Night about her relationship with her son and the LGBTQ community (to which actress Jamie Lee Curtis has reportedly bought the rights).

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