Same-sex marriage was approved in Ecuador on Wednesday in a landmark ruling by the country's Constitutional Court.

Lawyer Christian Paula said triumphantly: "It means that Ecuador is more egalitarian. It recognizes that human rights must be for all people without discrimination."

Read more: Botswana decriminalizes gay sex

The decision came after judges voted 5-to-4 in favor of approval.

The arguments against centered around having to debate the process in the National Assembly prior to changing current legislation.

However, Gustavo Medina, a former Supreme Court president, said that authorities were obliged to accept the conclusions of the Constitutional Court because they were "binding and mandatory."

Celebrations abound after Ecuador approved same-sex marriage in the traditionally Catholic country

The process began when two couples filed a lawsuit as they wanted to marry. Efrain Soria and Xavier Benalcazar, one of the couples, have been in a civil partnership for the past seven years.

Civil unions get fewer rights than married people but now, thanks to the change in laws, same-sex marriages will be entitled to the same inheritance and estate benefits as heterosexual spouses.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2001, The Netherlands The Netherlands was the first country in the world to permit same-sex marriages after the Dutch parliament voted for legalization in 2000. The mayor of Amsterdam, Job Cohen, wedded the first four same-sex couples at midnight on April 1, 2001 when the legislation came into effect. The new law also allowed same-sex couples to adopt children.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2003, Belgium The Netherlands' neighbor, Belgium, followed the Dutch lead and legalized same-sex marriage two years later. The law gave same-sex partners many of the rights of their heterosexual counterparts. But unlike the Dutch, the Belgians did not initially allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The Belgian parliament passed a bill granting them that right three years later.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2010, Argentina Argentina became the first Latin American country to legalize same-sex marriages when its Senate voted 33 to 27 in favor of it in July 2010. Argentina thereby became the tenth country in the world to permit gay and lesbian marriages. The South American country was not the only one to do so in 2010. Earlier in the year, Portugal and Iceland also passed same-sex marriage legislation.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2012, Denmark Denmark's parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of legalization in June 2012. The small Scandinavian country had made headlines before when it was the first country in the world to recognize civil partnerships for gay and lesbian couples in 1989. Same-sex couples had also enjoyed the right to adopt children since 2009.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2013, New Zealand New Zealand became the 15th country worldwide and the first Asia-Pacific country to allow gay and lesbian marriages in 2013. The first couples were married on August 19. Lynley Bendall (left) and Ally Wanik (right) were among them when they exchanged vows on board an Air New Zealand flight from Queenstown to Auckland. France legalized same-sex marriage the same year.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2015, Ireland Ireland made headlines in May 2015 when it became the first country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage through a referendum. Thousands of people celebrated in the streets of Dublin as the results came in showing almost two-thirds of voters opting for the measure.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2015, USA The White House was alight in the colors of the rainbow flag on June 26, 2015. Earlier, the US Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that the constitution guaranteed marriage equality, a verdict that paved the way for same-sex couples to be married across the country. The decision came 12 years after the Supreme Court ruled that laws criminalizing gay sex were unconstitutional.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2017, Germany Germany became the fifteenth European country to legalize gay and lesbian marriages in June 30, 2017. The bill passed by 393 to 226 in the Bundestag, with four abstentions. German Chancellor Angela Merkel voted against the bill, but paved the way for its passage when she said her party would be allowed to vote freely on the measure only days before the vote took place.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2017 - 2018, Australia Following a postal survey which showed the majority of Australians were in favor of same-sex marriage, the country's parliament passed a law to legalize it in December 2017. As couples in Australia have to give authorities one month's notice of their nuptials, many of the first weddings took place just after midnight on January 9, 2018 - including that of Craig Burns and Luke Sullivan, pictured.

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2019, Taiwan In May 2019, the island state became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. The government survived an attempt by conservative opposition to water down the bill. Gay couples are able to offically register their marriage from May 24 onwards. President Tsai Ing-wen called it "a big step towards true equality."

Countries that have legalized same-sex marriage 2019, Ecuador The Andean state's top court ruled 5-4 to allow two gay couples to marry in June. The decision followed a ruling from the Inter-American Court on Human Rights affirming that countries should allow same-sex couples the right to marry. Author: Alexander Pearson



Soria told reporters in Quito: "I want to say hello to Javier, who is in Guayaquil. Honey, I love you."

"Enjoy the happiness that comes from being equal, like anyone else. It is a joy for our entire community and Ecuador," said Soria, who is the head of the Ecuadorian Equality Foundation, an LGBT rights group.

Ecuador joins other Latin American countries Argentina, Brazil and Colombia in legalizing same-sex marriage.

jsi/jil (AP, AFP)

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