ABSTRACT
Political attention toward issues regarding same-sex couples and parenting has dramatically increased in the last decades and the legal recognition of same-sex relationships has been put upon government agendas in Western Europe and North America. Challenged by policy demands from LGBT movements regarding intimate citizenship, most governments have adopted what looks like a highly convergent response in granting legal recognition to same-sex couples through same-sex union (SSU) laws. Denmark was the first country to enact registered partnership in 1989 and was followed by several Western European countries in the 1990s and 2000s. In 2001, the Netherlands innovated in extending civil marriage rights to same-sex couples. An increasing number of countries quickly embraced the Dutch approach from the 2000s onwards.
