Sweden took a
step toward
allowing
same-sex
marriage
Wednesday when a
government
appointed
committee in
Stockholm proposed
extending this
right to
same-sex
couples.
Sweden has
provided for
civil unions
between same-sex
couples since
1994 but does
not permit
same-sex
marriages.
Former
Chancellor of
Justice, Hans
Regner, who was
commissioned in
2005 to review
Swedish
matrimony
legislation,
said the
proposed
amendments would
take affect from January 2008.
If the new law
is passed,
couples who have
entered civil
unions would
automatically be
considered
legally married
and the
institution of
civil union
would be
deleted.
Same-sex
marriage is
legal in five
other countries:
Canada, Belgium,
the Netherlands,
Spain, and South
Africa. In the
United States,
the state of
Massachusetts
allows same-sex
marriage.
The Swedish
proposal needs
parliamentary
approval but is
expected to pass
in a country
with widespread
support for
same-sex
marriage.
Regner said he had considered various arguments against changing the marriage legislation but had come to the conclusion that there was no reason to reserve marriage for heterosexual couples only.
The Church of Sweden, a Lutheran church, welcomed the proposals saying that it will perform marriage ceremonies. Archbishop Anders Weyryd said that it was good that “same-sex couples would be offered the same legal protection”.
The new position
adopted by the
church would also end
the need for
same-sex couples seeking a church wedding to attend a civil
registry. Whilst the Church of Sweden currently performs blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples, the church cannot register them and the couple must sign a civil registry at a government office.
Some 80 per cent of Sweden’s 9 million people belong to the Church of Sweden that was separated from the state in January 2000.
That the Church
accepted the
recommendations
of the
government
report makes it
even more likely
that
Parliament will
approve the
proposals.
