2023 in LGBTQ rights

This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ rights that took place in the year 2023.

List of years in LGBTQ rights (table)
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Events

February

• 1 -
  • A law legalizing same-sex marriage came into force in Slovenia.^[1]
  • Finland's parliament passed a law allowing trans people to change their legal gender without them needing to be infertile or to have been sterilized.^[2]
• 6 - The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal ruled that government policy forcing transgender individuals to undergo sex reassignment surgery before changing their gender on their ID cards is unconstitutional.^[3]
• 7 - A court ruling legalizing recognition of same-sex couples and same-sex marriage came into force in Curaçao.^[4]
• 9 - The Senate of Spain passed, with 144 votes in favor, 108 votes against, and 2 abstentions the so-called ley trans bill. The latter allows all transgender people 16 or older to legally change their gender by simply signing a declaration (without the need for prior psychological counseling with a therapist); it also grants transgender people aged 12 to 16 the ability to legally change their gender under certain conditions.
• 16 - The ley trans passed the Spanish Parliament after the Congress of Deputies approved it in its second reading with 191 votes in favour, 60 against, and 91 abstentions.^[5]
• 17 -
  • A law legalizing same-sex marriage came into force in Andorra.^[6][7]
  • The Government of the United Kingdom used section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998 to block the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from receiving royal assent, effectively vetoing it.^[8] Had the bill become law, it would have made it easier for trans Scottish citizens to change their legal gender.
• 23 - A South Korean High Court recognized the legal status of same-sex couples while ruling on a case considering a same-sex partner's right to spousal coverage under the national health insurance service.^[9][10]
• 24 - Kenya's Supreme Court ruled that, even if homosexual intercourse is prohibited by the law, the constitutionally protected right to freedom of expression and of assembly extends to LGBT advocacy groups.^[11]

March

• 2 - The ley trans came into force in Spain.
• 20 - The Supreme Court of Nepal issues a non-binding ruling asking the government to recognize same-sex marriage in the country.^[12]
• 21 - The Parliament of Uganda passed by voice vote the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which prescribes the death penalty for "aggravated homosexuals" (definition which includes those who are convicted of homosexuality more than once and those who engage in homosexual sex with a person older than 75 or with a disabled person)^[13] and imprisonment for up to 20 years for "promoters of homosexuality".

April

• 14 - The Parliament of the Cook Islands passed into law the Crimes (Sexual Offences) Amendment Bill 2023, decriminalizing homosexuality.^[14] The bill will come into effect on June 1.^[15]

May

• 16 - The Namibian Supreme Court ruled 4–1 that same-sex marriages concluded outside of Namibia should be recognised for residency purposes.
• 16 - Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed a bill granting full adoption rights to same-sex couples.^[16]
• 25 - Cyprus' Parliament passed a bill criminalizing conversion therapy.^[17]
• 29 - Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni signed the Anti-Homosexuality Bill into law.

June

• 1 -
  • The Crimes (Sexual Offences) Amendment Act 2023 came into effect, decriminalizing homosexuality in the Cook Islands.^[15]
  • A law granting same-sex couples the right to adopt came into force in Liechtenstein.
• 10 - The Parliament of Iceland passed a bill criminalizing conversion therapy with 53 votes in favor and 3 abstentions.^[18]
• 13 - The City Council of Hamtramck, Michigan introduced a resolution prohibiting the display of all flags but the American flag and “nations’ flags that represent the international character of [the] City,” which many interpreted as an indirectly targeted ban of the rainbow flag on city property and sidewalks, which had previously been the source of controversy among some residents.^[19] Following three hours of public comment, the Council passed the resolution unanimously.^[20][21]
• 14 - The Dane County Board of Supervisors passes a resolution declaring the county to be the first sanctuary for transgender and non-binary individuals in the United States.^[22]
• 20 - The Parliament of Estonia (Riigikogu) passed a bill allowing same-sex marriages, which will come into effect on January 1, 2024.^[23]
• 28 - A single judge bench of the Nepal Supreme Court orders the government to establish a separate register for sexual minorities and non-traditional couples and to temporarily register them.^[24]

July

• 14 - The Russian State Duma approves a bill banning gender-affirming care and sex reassignment surgeries.^[25]

• 28 - In Bulgaria, a law on amendments and supplements to the criminal code is approved, which provides for heavier penalties for crimes committed on the basis of the victim's sexual orientation.^[26]

August

• 22 - Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court ruled that the current protections afforded by federal hate crime law extends to LGBTQ+ individuals. This decision implies that people who engage in hate speech targeted at LGBTQ+ people could potentially face imprisonment ranging from two to five years.^[27][28]

September

• 5 - The Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal issued its decision in the case of Sham Tsz Kit v Secretary for Justice, ruling that the government's lack of recognition of same-sex partnerships violates the right to privacy under the Basic Law. The ruling is suspended for two years in order to give the government time to comply with the decision.^[29]

October

• 4 - The Supreme Court of Mauritius ruled that Section 250 of the country's Criminal Code, which criminalized gay sex, is unconstitutional.^[30]

• 17 - The Supreme Court of India, in Supriyo v. Union of India, ruled that the legalization of same-sex marriage is a matter for the Parliament to decide, not the courts, but said that the country had a duty to acknowledge LGBTQ relationships and to protect them from discrimination.^[31]

November

• 9 - The Saeima, Latvia's parliament, voted to allow same-sex couples to establish civil unions, providing them with legal recognition but fewer rights than married couples. The new legislation allows same-sex couples to register their partnership with a notary.^[32]

• 29 - Authorities in the Lumjung district in Nepal formally registered the union of an LGBT couple, the first same-sex marriage to be registered in the country.^[33]

• 30 - Russia's Supreme Court, in a ruling prompted by a motion from the Ministry of Justice, declared what it calls "the international LGBT public movement" an extremist organization and banned its activities across the country. The ruling came after a closed-door hearing and no one from "the defendant's side" was present.^[34]

December

• 17 - The Church of England blessed same-sex couples for the first time, while maintaining its opposition to performing same-sex weddings in church.^[35]
• 18 - The Catholic Church approves non-liturgical blessings for same-sex couples, but clarifies that it still deems same-sex activity to be sinful and opposes all forms of same-sex legal union.^[36]