Latvia does not recognize same-sex marriage but same-sex couples are able to register their partnerships with the courts. On 12 November 2020, the Constitutional Court of Latvia ruled that the Latvian Constitution entitles same-sex couples to receive the benefits and protections afforded by Latvian law to married opposite-sex couples, and gave the Saeima until 1 June 2022 to enact a law protecting same-sex couples. In December 2021, the Supreme Court ruled that should the Saeima fail to pass civil union legislation before the 1 June 2022 deadline, same-sex couples may apply with a court to have their relationship recognized and enjoy some of the rights and benefits offered to married couples. The Saeima failed to approve such legislation by the deadline, and the first same-sex union was recognized by the Administrative District Court on 30 May 2022.
Civil unions
Background
On 23 September 1999, the Latvian National Human Rights Office introduced a registered partnership bill to the Saeima. On 28 September 1999, the proposal was sent to the Human Rights and Public Affairs Committee of the Saeima for discussion, but it was rejected by the commission on 30 November 1999. In January 2012, the Ombudsman's Office (the renamed National Human Rights Office since 2007) recommended that the Parliament rejected registered partnership legislation. However, after Baltic Pride in June 2012, it was revealed that the Ministry of Justice, led by Gaidis Bērziņš, was considering whether to recognise same-sex partnerships, either as unregistered cohabitation or registered partnerships. Defence Minister Artis Pabriks expressed his support for registered partnerships. Mozaika, Latvia's largest LGBT rights organisation, estimated it would take approximately five years to obtain enough political support to pass the bill.
In November 2014, while commenting on the coming out of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Edgars Rinkēvičs, and on his call for the recognition of same-sex relationships in Latvia, Prime Minister Laimdota Straujuma reaffirmed her support for the constitutional prohibition on same-sex marriage. She also admitted that "Latvian law has not yet resolved the question of partner-relationships", explaining that the non-recognition of unmarried couples "affects many in Latvia" regardless of sexual orientation and that protection of such families "needs to be discussed by both the community and the Saeima". On 30 January 2015, Veiko Spolītis, an MP from the New Unity party, submitted a bill to modify the Civil Code to legally recognise same-sex partnerships. The proposed law would have allowed "any two persons" to register their partnership and enjoy almost all of the rights and obligations of marriage. The proposal was rejected by the Legal Affairs Committee of the Saeima on 24 February 2015.
On 23 March 2015, the chairperson of For Latvia's Development, Juris Pūce, launched a signature collection campaign on ManaBalss.lv, calling for the passage of a cohabitation law in Latvia. The signatures were submitted to the Saeima in January 2018. In March 2018, the Mandate, Ethics and Submissions Committee recommended 5–4 that the initiative be rejected by the Saeima; 5 out of the 9 committee members voted to recommend rejection, while the 4 others wanted further consideration. In October 2018, the ombudsman called on lawmakers to pass a partnership law for both opposite-sex and same-sex couples, citing statistics showing that about half of Latvian children were born out of wedlock, and arguing that these families should enjoy legal protection. On 20 June 2019, MPs voted against sending the bill to further discussion and review in parliamentary committees; only 23 members voted for the bill, 60 voted against it and one member abstained. The Development/For! and New Unity parties and some Social Democrats supported the bill, while the remaining Social Democrats, Who Owns the State?, the New Conservative Party, the National Alliance and the Union of Greens and Farmers as well as several independents were opposed. Supporters of the bill said they would persevere and persuade lawmakers to discuss it again in the future.
On 29 October 2020, the Saeima voted 55–30 to reject a popular initiative entitled "Registration of same-sex partners", which called for the passage of a civil union law and had been signed by 10,392 citizens. That same day, the authors of the initiative started a new petition, called "For Legal Protection of All Families", which had been signed by 23,392 citizens by March 2022.