Several Countries Vie To Be the Next To Legalize Gay Marriage

Hitting critical mass around the world

It's not just the United States grappling with the issue of same-sex marriage.

Many countries around the world are re-examining their laws, and some appear to be on the brink of changing them.

Senators in Uruguay approved a marriage equality bill Tuesday that puts them on course to be the 12th country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage.

And this week, senators in France will begin weighing a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage and allow same-sex couples to adopt children. The bill, which has the support of President Francois Hollande, has cleared the lower house of Parliament.

It "would be a major advance for our country in terms of equality of rights," said the French gay, lesbian and transgender rights group Inter-LGBT. "The law must allow all couples to unite themselves as they wish and must protect all families, without discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity."