Next countries to legalize Gay Marriage? (after Colombia)

[Lord Halifax]

Out of interest, what is your reasoning? Why shouldn't straight couples be able to marry in a civil marriage, too? That'd solve problems like a Cohen and divorcee not being able to marry, for example.

I think religious Jewish marriage is an important institution that should absolutely be maintained in a Jewish state. At the same time, the state should give same-sex couples the same legal rights as straight couples, including the right to marry. And because of the fact that it is impossible for same-sex couples to marry in a religious ceremony, civil marriage needs to be instated for them. However, it is not needed for straight couples, who can (and should) marry the Jewish way.

I don't think it is a problem that a Cohen and a divorcee cannot marry one another.

So agnostic or atheist Jews should just remain unmarried? That leads to discrimination of non-religious Jews (and their kids, who lose inheritance rights etc.).

[Lord Halifax]

So agnostic or atheist Jews should just remain unmarried? That leads to discrimination of non-religious Jews (and their kids, who lose inheritance rights etc.).

Atheist and agnostic Israeli Jews typically get married in Jewish ceremonies too, and that's perfectly fine, and most of them are perfectly fine with it. If people really object to the Jewish tradition so much that they are not willing to marry Jewish, they are free to get married in Cyprus or leave the Jewish state altogether and live in their beloved "enlightened" Europe

Why Europe? That seems like an odd choice. Most European countries do not allow immigration from Israel anyway.

[Lord Halifax]

ethnic Latvians are about equally divided between Lutherans and Catholics rather than mostly Lutheran so less LGBT-friendly than ethnic Estonians. Lithuania is mostly Catholic and thus less LGBT-friendly than Latvia.

Not really, it was 34.2% Lutherans and 24.1% Roman Catholics in 2011. Virtually all the Lutherans are Latvians (except a few Germans), while 4% are Polish, Lithuanian and other Catholics. So roughly 33% vs. 20%.