Dutch born Stephan Hengst (R) kisses his husband, American-born Patrick Decker, after being married by Amsterdam's Mayor Job Cohen on an official wedding boat during the Gay Pride Canal Parade in Amsterdam August 1, 2009. Reuters/Paul Vreeker/United Photos The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing two huge gay marriage cases on March 26 and 27.

But America still lags behind several other countries when it comes to equality for gays and lesbians.

With nearly half of Americans supporting gay marriage, gay rights advocates are hoping the U.S. will follow the lead of western European governments in establishing stronger federal legal protections for gay couples.

So far, 11 countries have legalized same-sex marriage, according to the Pew Research Center, and seven of them are in western Europe or Scandinavia. Just one country each in Latin America and Africa allows gay couples to marry.

This list includes all the countries that have legalized gay marriage and a couple that have strong anti-discrimination laws and protections for same-sex relationships.