multiple spouses. In English law, for example, §2 Immigration Act 1988 prohibits certain polygamous wives from exercising their right of abode with the result that any application from such a wife has to be considered in accordance with paragraphs 278 to 280 of the Immigration Rules, which contain provisions to restrict settlement in most cases to one wife. But, for less controversial purposes, most states are willing to recognise actually polygamous marriages as valid so long as the parties had the capacity to enter into such relationships and the ceremonies were effective under the lex loci celebrationis. Same-sex marriage In a Chinese conception of marriage, a marriage is defined as being a relationship in which unions of various surnames are established in order to increase the lines of succession and property values. The first law providing for marriage of people of the same sex in modern times was enacted in 2001 in the Netherlands. As of 2022, same-sex marriage is legally recognized (nationwide or in some parts) in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States and Uruguay. Polls show rising support for legally recognizing same-sex marriage in most of the Americas and Europe. Israel recognizes same-sex marriages abroad - but do not allow same-sex marriages to be performed within its borders. In several countries worldwide a same-sex couple can be legally partnered in a civil union, domestic partnership or registered partnership. Couples in these unions or partnerships are afforded rights and obligations similar to, but not identical to, those of a married couple. On the issue of transsexualism, the European Court of Human Rights in Goodwin v UK and I v UK (July 2002) concluded that there is no justification for barring a transsexual from enjoying the right to marry. In Bellinger v Bellinger [2003] UKHL 21, (2003) Times, 11 April the English courts held that the non-recognition of change of gender for the purposes of marriage in s 11(c) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 was incompatible with Convention rights. But the House of Lords did not consider that the issues raised in the case were suitable for determination by courts and left the matter for Parliament, which has now enacted the Gender Recognition Act