In a move that is expected to set a precedent for many other states, Indiana is expected on Tuesday to become the first state in the nation to allow same-sex marriages.
The new law allows same-gender couples to marry on May 2, and will set the stage for similar marriages in other states.
The measure was passed by the state House on a 26-14 vote in December, but the Senate has since approved it.
The legislation was signed into law by Gov.
Eric Holcomb in January.
Indiana is one of 17 states where same-filing marriages will be legal for same-day ceremonies.
The state’s decision comes less than a year after Indiana passed a similar measure that will now take effect in the spring of 2018.
Indiana was the first U.S. state to legalize gay marriage in 2014.
That year, the U.K. followed suit.
Gay rights groups have argued that Indiana’s new law will allow gay couples to have the same rights as other married couples.
The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said on Tuesday that she is “deeply concerned about the discriminatory, discriminatory impact of the proposed Indiana law on the rights of same- and opposite-sex couples.”
“The rights of the LGBT community should be respected and protected and the right to marry and have a relationship is an essential human right,” Pillay said in a statement.
The ruling is the latest in a series of victories for gay rights across the globe.
Earlier this month, a U.A.E. court in Rio de Janeiro ruled in favor of a gay couple who sued a hotel and the city of Rio de Janiero in Brazil.
A federal judge in San Francisco struck down California’s ban on same-sexual conduct.
Last year, same-same couples in Australia, New Zealand and the U and D states in the U: approved same-marriage laws.
The Indiana ruling comes just days after another federal judge struck down a federal ban on gay marriage.
The decision was the latest legal victory for same sex couples in the United States.
A new Pew Research Center survey found that while public support for same marriage has dropped to historic lows, the percentage of Americans who support gay marriage remains at a historic high.
About a quarter of Americans, 25%, say they support gay and lesbian marriage.