Equality Rights Statute Amendment Act in Ontario, was defeated in 1994. Colombia In 2007, Colombia came close to passing a law granting legal recognition to same-sex couples, but the bill failed on final passage in one house of the national legislature. However, a court decision in October 2007 extended social security and health insurance rights to same-sex couples. On January 29, 2009, the Constitutional Court ruled that cohabitating same-sex couples must be given all rights offered to unmarried heterosexual couples, making Colombia the first Latin American country to fully grant this right to all its citizens. Couples can claim these rights after living together for two years. Colombia has since approved same-sex marriage. Costa Rica The Legislative Assembly of Costa Rica passed a bill in early July 2013 that "confers social rights and benefits of a civil union, free from discrimination", language inserted by lawmaker José María Villalta Florez-Estrada of the Broad Front party. After the bill passed, several media outlets reported that conservative lawmakers realized the bill's implications for same-sex unions and urged President Laura Chinchilla, who is set to face Villalta in the 2014 presidential election, to use her veto power to stop the bill from becoming law. Chinchilla, who has suggested the courts should determine the legality of same-sex unions in Costa Rica, refused and signed the bill into law on 4 July. A gay couple has filed an appeal with the Supreme Court of Justice of Costa Rica asking that their union be recognized under the new law. Gay rights activists reacting to the law said it needs to survive a constitutional challenge in court. Some constitutional lawyers stated that same-sex couples will "still lack legal capacity" to formalize their unions, despite passage of the bill. Ecuador The 2008 Constitution of Ecuador enacted civil unions between two people without regard to gender, giving same-sex couples the same rights as legally married heterosexual couples except for the right to adopt. Europe In Europe: Denmark (1989–2012; same-sex only) Norway (1993–2009; same-sex only) Sweden (1995–2009; same-sex only) Iceland (1996–2010; same-sex only) Greenland (1996–2016; same-sex only) Netherlands (1998; gender-neutral) France (1999; gender-neutral) Belgium (2000; gender-neutral) Germany (2001–2017; same-sex only) Finland (2002–2017; same-sex only) Luxembourg (2004; gender-neutral) Andorra (2005; gender-neutral) United Kingdom (2005; same-sex only, since 2019 gender-neutral in England and Wales, since 2020 gender-neutral in Northern Ireland, since 2021 in Scotland) Czech Republic (2006; same-sex only) Slovenia (2006; same-sex only)