LGBTQ rights in San Marino | |
|---|---|
 Location of San Marino (green) | |
| Legal status | Legal since 1864 "Habitual" homosexual acts "causing a public scandal" illegal from 1970 to 2004 |
| Military | LGBT people may serve |
| Discrimination protections | Protections for sexual orientation and gender identity |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships | Unregistered cohabitation since 2012 (only for immigration purposes), Civil unions since 2019 |
| Adoption | Stepchild adoption since 2019 |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people inSan Marino may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal inSan Marino, but households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.
Discrimination on account ofsexual orientation is banned under the 2019 amendments to theConstitution of San Marino. In November 2018, theGrand and General Council approved a bill to legalisecivil unions. The law, which took effect on 5 December 2018 and became fully operational on 11 February 2019, following a number of further legal and administrative changes, allows same-sex and opposite-sex couples to enter into a union and receive some of the rights and benefits of marriage.
Homosexuality was decriminalised inSan Marino in 1864.
From 1975 to 2004, Article 274 of the Criminal Code prohibited homosexual acts if they had been engaged in "habitually" and thereby caused "public scandal". The punishment imprisonment for no less than three months and no more one year. There are no reports, however, that Article 274 was ever applied.[1] It was the only special provision on homosexuality in the Sammarinese Penal Code.
Article 274 was eventually repealed in September 2004.
The age of consent is set at 14 for both opposite-sex and same-sex sexual acts. Additionally, it is an offence to "incite a minor under 18 years to sexual corruption".
On 15 November 2018, theSan Marino Grand Council approved a bill to legalisecivil unions in the microstate.[2][3] The law, which came into effect on 5 December 2018, became fully operational on 11 February 2019, following a number of further legal and administrative changes. It allows same-sex and opposite-sex couples to enter into a union and receive certain legal rights with respect to residency, citizenship, pension rights, healthcare, succession rights, and stepchild adoption.[4]
In December 2017, the Sammarinese Parliament approved an amendment to a proposed 2018 budget law that would allowsame-sex marriages of foreign couples to be performed in San Marino, with the aim of encouraging tourism. Sammarinese same-sex couples will still be banned from marrying. Thegovernment now has the task of drafting legislation to implement the amendment.[5][6] As of 2024, this does not appear to have happened yet.
On 28 April 2008, the Sammarinese Parliament approved amendments to the Penal Code, outlawing discrimination and hate speech on the basis of sexual orientation.[7][8] The law took effect on 3 May 2008.[9][7] The Penal Code also provides penalty enhancements tohate crimes motivated by the victim's sexual orientation.
In November 2018, during the final discussion of the civil union law, Deputy Davide Forcellini of theRETE Movement proposed to explicitly add the termsexual orientation to Article 4 of theConstitution.[10] The proposal received support from theDM-SMT, theParty of Socialists and Democrats (PSD) and theSocialist Party (PS), as well as several independent deputies.[11][12][13] In March 2019, the Parliament approved the proposal, 35 votes in favour, 8 against and 1 abstention. However, 39 votes were required. Due to failing to meet this threshold, the text was submitted to areferendum.[14][15][16][17] On 2 June 2019, voters approved the amendment, with 71.46% voting in favour.[18][19]
Article 4 of the San Marino Constitution now reads as follows:
In November 2019, during the country'sUniversal Periodic Review, San Marino accepted recommendations fromLiechtenstein,Luxembourg andMexico to outlaw discrimination on the basis ofgender identity.[20]
TheSammarinese Armed Forces does not explicitly ban LGBT people from serving. Thecode of conduct of the police force prohibits unfair discrimination in recruitment. Furthermore, police officials are trained to properly respond to and identify discrimination, whether in public or within the police force itself.[21]
Gay and bisexual men are allowed to donate blood in San Marino.[22][23]
Until recently LGBT people in San Marino went unnoticed, with very few public debates or discussions involving the issue of LGBT rights, either in the media, society in general or politics. When LGBT groups in San Marino asked the government to recognize 17 May as theInternational Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in the early 2000s, their proposition was rejected.[23]
The country's sex education programme, accompanied by emotional education programmes, expressly provide for knowledge of LGBT rights. The "Curriculum of education to citizenship" also provides for knowledge of LGBT matters.[20]
There are occasionally reports of violence and hate crimes directed at the LGBT community in San Marino.[24][23] In June 2019, the electorate voted with 71% to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. In 2022, with the election ofPaolo Rondelli to the office ofCaptain Regent, San Marino became the first country in history with an openly homosexual head of state.[25]
| Same-sex sexual activity legal |  (Since 1864) |
| Equal age of consent (14) | (Since 1864) |
| Anti-discrimination laws in employment | (Since 2008) |
| Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services | (Since 2008) |
| Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) | (Since 2008) |
| All discrimination based on sexual orientation banned by constitution | (Since 2019) |
| Anti-discrimination laws concerning gender identity in all areas | (Since 2016) |
| Hate crime law includes sexual orientation | (Since 2008) |
| Same-sex marriage |  |
| Recognition of same-sex couples (e.g. civil unions) | (Since 2019) |
| Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples | (Since 2019) |
| Joint adoption by same-sex couples | |
| LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military | |
| Right to change legal gender | |
| Access toIVF for lesbian couples | |
| Conversion therapy banned on minors | |
| Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples | |
| MSMs allowed to donate blood | |
