Vietnam

Vietnam has abolished its ban on same-sex marriage, Bloomberg's John Boudreau and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen reports: "The revised law, while not officially recognizing same-sex marriage, places the communist country at the forefront of countries in Asia becoming more accepting of gay people." The government won't recognize the marriages or provide legal protections like divorce or rules on splitting up assets upon death. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, told Bloomberg no other country in Southeast Asia has taken as big a step toward accepting same-sex marriage as Vietnam.