This makes Costa Rica the 29th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. Equal marriage rights have been planned for years because the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled that all member countries should allow same-sex marriage, including Costa Rica. On top of that, the Supreme Court of Costa Rica ruled that it was against the constitution to block same-sex marriage back in August 2018.

In November 2018, legislators were given 18 months to introduce gay marriage. Despite the deadline, they tried to delay the process and asked for a postponement this month. They wanted a minimum of 18 months once the pandemic ended. To the delight of many LGBT+ organizations, this proposed delay was not accepted.

Following the judgment of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Costa Rica is the sixth country to join Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Uruguay. However, the judgment also applies to Barbados, Bolivia, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Suriname. Although the verdict is final, it remains to be seen how long it will take for these countries to legalize same-sex marriage.