For one thing, the 2003 law legalized marriage only between Belgian citizens, or between a Belgian citizen and a citizen of a country in which gay marriage is legal. Since only two countries in the world, the Netherlands and Belgium, have legalized same-sex marriage, this placed severe limits on the scope of the law. In addition, the marriage law does not include adoption rights for gay and lesbian couples, or second-parent adoption if one partner already has children. Therefore, while single people in Belgium can legally adopt, married gay men and lesbians cannot.

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However, progress continues to be made. In January 2004, a new law was passed allowing Belgian gay men and lesbians to marry citizens of any other country. Gay activists plan to press for adoption rights in 2004.

Attitudes toward gay and lesbian personnel in European militaries vary widely, from the acceptance of the Dutch to the laissez-faire policy of the French to the rejection of the Greek and Turkish forces.

The successes of the Dutch emancipation movement have served as an inspiration to the international struggle for glbtq equality.

Lesbian and gay couples have been fighting for the freedom to marry since the dawn of the modern glbtq struggle for equality; despite some success abroad, progress toward same-sex marriage in the United States has been slow.

The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) is a worldwide federation of local and national groups dedicated to achieving equal rights for glbtq people.