Activities in other countries: Germany, Hungary,
Iceland, Ireland, Mexico, Portugal and Uruguay

• 2001: The German Parliament passed a law recognized same-sex unions. They may take each other's names, must support each other financially, and may divorce and demand alimony.
  
  
• 2003-JUL: Germany's Supreme Court upheld the country's civil union law which gives some of the benefits of marriage to registered same-sex couples. German cardinal Karl Lehman of the Roman Catholic Church condemned this decision as "a hard blow to marriage and the family." He said in a Vatican Radio interview: "Now the associations of homosexuals have a potent arm to obtain further concessions on the road toward full equality with married couples, including the right to adoption." ₁
   
• 2004-OCT-29: The Cardinal's prediction came true. The German parliament voted to extend additional rights to same-sex couples. They are not compelled to testify against each other in court. Widows and widowers can obtain a state pension. They can adopt the biological children of their spouses. The bill was supported by the ruling Social Democrats and the Greens, and some liberal Free Democrats, but opposed by conservative parties. Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries said: "Same-sex partnerships are a reality in Germany. But gays and lesbians are still not treated equally in how they are able to live their lives, and there is no reason for that." About 5,000 civil unions have been registered since 2001. About 8,000 children are being raised by same-sex couples. ₂
  

Hungary:

Iceland:

• 2009-FEB-02: The Social Democratic Alliance Party in Iceland chose Johanna Sigurdardottir, the former social affairs minister, to lead the Government. She thus became the world's first openly lesbian head of state: She is in a three decade long same-sex relationship with prominent writer Honina Leosdottir. ₃
  
  
• 2010-JUN-11: The Icelandic Parliament voted unanimously (49 to 0) to change the country's marriage laws to include unions between "man and man" and "women and women" in addition to opposite-sex unions. The law states that clergy wil be "... free to perform [same-sex] marriage ceremonies, but will never be obliged to." ₄
  
  Gunnar Helgi Kristinsson, a political scientist at the University of Iceland said: "The attitude in Iceland is fairly pragmatic. It (same-sex marriage) has not been a big issue in national politics -- it's not been controversial." ₅
  
  The main religious group in Ireland is the Evangelical Lutheran Church. It has yet to decide whether to allow same-sex marriages in its churches.
  
  
• 2010-JUN-27: Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir and Honina Leosdottir were married in church on the same day that same-sex marriages first became available in the country.

Ireland:

	1993: Ireland decriminalized same-sex activity.
	2004-SEP-11: Ann Louise Gilligan and Katherine Zappone, a lesbian couple, had married in British Columbia in 2003-SEP. Zappone is a member of Ireland's Human Rights Commission. Gilligan is a Dublin philosophy lecturer. They have been together for 23 years and live together in Brittas, a beachside resort south of Dublin. They returned to Ireland and are now petitioning the court for recognition of their marriage. Their case will be heard in 2005. They are seeking that the Revenue Commissioners allow them to file their income tax forms as a married couple. Tax for married couples is lower than for singles; spouses also pay lower inheritance taxes.  Their lead lawyer, Gerard Hogan, argued that neither the 1937 Irish constitution nor more recent tax laws specifically define marriage as between one man and one woman. 9
	2004-OCT-18: The all-party Oireachtas (National Parliament) committee on the Constitution is conducting a review of family related clauses in the Constitution. Part of the review will involve rights for same-sex couples. The committee will be hearing from a variety of groups and legal experts. They plan to report to the government by 2005-JUL. Possible options that they might pass on to legislators may include the abolition of marriage, the introduction of a civil partnership, opening marriage to include same-sex unions, or introducing different categories of marriage. Ms. Jan O'Sullivan of the Labour Party said her party would "favor gay couples having the same rights that everyone else has, whether you call it marriage or something else. We feel the option should be available to gay couples." Barry Andrews of the Fianna F�il party also favor recognition of gay marriages. But he foresaw problems related to adoption and other family rights. 6

2009-DEC-21: Mexico city passed a bill to legalize same-sex marriage: By a vote of 39 to 20, with five abstentions, Mexico City legislative assembly approved a bill to revise the civil code to define marriage as "the free uniting of two people." Previously, loving, committed same-sex couples were only able to obtain civil unions in the city. If signed into law the marriage bill will enable them to apply for bank loans, inherit, be included in each other's insurance plans, etc. Victor Romo of the Democratic Revolution party said: "For centuries, unjust laws banned marriage between blacks and whites or Indians and Europeans. Today, all barriers have disappeared."  Others were not impressed. Armando Martinez, president of the College of Catholic Attorneys, said that city legislators had "given Mexicans the most bitter Christmas. They are permitting adoption [by same-sex couples], and in one stroke of the pen have erased the terms mother and father." The conservative National Action party planed to mount a court challenge. 7

2010-MAR-05: Same-sex couples began registering for marriage licenses: Same-sex couples registered for marriage licenses starting today. Latin Americas first same-sex marriage law took effect today. They will be able to use their licenses in a week to ten days after the paperwork is processed. This raised the number of jurisdictions offering marriage equality in North America to 20. 7

Portugal:

• 2006-FEB-02: Helena Paixao, 35, and Teresa Pires, 28, applied for a marriage license. As expected, they were refused because they were of the same sex. They had been living together for three years. They planned to appeal. Their lawyers were considering a court challenge based on Portugal's constitution. It prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
  
  Since 2001, the country allows same-sex couples to register for civil unions. This gives them certain limited legal, tax and property rights. However, they are only a fraction of the rights automatically received by by every married couple. They are not allowed to take the last name of their partner, or to inherit their partner's posessions, or to inherit their partner's state pension.. The same couple was still together four years later and became the first married same-sex couple in Portugal. ₁₀
  
  
• 2010-JAN-08: It is perhaps surprising to many people that Portugal would consider creating same-sex civil marriages. After all, about 97% of the population consider themselves to be Roman Catholic and that church is dead set against marrige equality. However, SSM came to Portugal in 2010.
  
  A government bill to legalize same-sex marriage was approved in principle by Portugal's parliament. It had the support of the governing Socialist Party and some other smaller left-wing parties. It was fiercely and passionately opposed by conservative parties and by the Roman Catholic Church who attempted to force a national referendum. A petition calling for a referendum had gathered 80,000 signatures. However, this was insufficient and was rejected.
  
  Conservatives attempted to promote a civil union law as a substitute for full marriage. This is a common tactic seen in other countries: conservatives start by advocating no recognition of same-sex relationships at all. Then support for same-sex marriage reaches a creitical level. Conservatives suddenly suggest a compromise in the form of civil unions that would give loving, committed same-sex couples the same rights and protections for themselves and their children as married couples receive, without the use of the name "marriage." The civil union proposal was also rejected by the Socialists as a discriminatory measure.
  
  The bill was then sent to a Parliamentary committee for review. ₁₁
  
  
• 2010-APR: The Constitutional Court confirmed the constitutionality of the bill.
  
  
• 2010-MAY-17: President Anibal Cavaco Silva announced that he was ratifying the bill, thus making Portugal the sixth European nation to legalize same-sex marriage, after Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Norway. Silva had taken this action reluctantly and was against his "personal convictions." He did not veto the bill because there were sufficient votes in the legislature to easily override the veto. Noting that the country was in a serious financial crisis, he said: "I feel I should not contribute to a pointless extension of this debate, which would only serve to deepen the divisions between the Portuguese and divert the attention of politicians away from the grave problems affecting us."
  
  BBC News reported:

  "Cavaco Silva's announcement came three days after Pope Benedict XVI left Portugal. During his four-day visit, which attracted hundreds of thousands of people, the pontiff said same-sex marriage, and abortion [access], were some of the most 'insidious and dangerous' threats facing the world."

  Vitalino Canas, spokesperson for the Socialist Party said: "This is a memorable moment. This is a great step forward for us politically and as a society."
  
  Antonio Serzedelo, president of gay-positive lobby group Opus Gay, congratulated the president for placing "... ethical responsibility above personal opinions." ₁₂

• 2010-JUN-07: Helena Paixao and Teresa Pires returned to a Lisbon registry office and became the first same-sex couple to marry under the new law. They have been together since 2003. They described their marriage as a: "... great victory, a dream come true." They have all of the rights of opposite-sex married couples, except for the right to adopt a child. ₁₃

Uruguay:

On 2007-DEC-18, Uruguay's Congress unanimously passed a bill that allows all loving committed couples -- whether opposite sex or same-sex -- to enter into civil unions and obtain rights and obligations similar to that given to married couples, including heath benefits, inheritance, parenting and pension rights.. The lower House of Parliament and the Chamber of Senators had already passed the legislation. Before applying for a civil union, they have to live together for five years, and register with the government.

The legislation was opposed by the Roman Catholic bishops who pressured Catholic legislators to vote against it. The Episcopal Conference of Uruguay (CEP) said:

 "In no way can homosexual cohabitation be accepted because it does not meet the basic criteria defining marriage, it is therefore unacceptable to place it in suchlike equal level." ₈

References:

The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.

1. Victor Simpson, "Vatican seeks to stop move toward same-sex unions," Associated Press, at: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
2. Tisha Steyn, "Germany extends gay rights," News24.com, at: http://www.news24.com/
3. "Lesbian in Charge," Star Observer, Australia, 2009-FEB-04, at: http://www.starobserver.com.au
4. "Iceland legalizes same-sex marriage," Star Observer, Australia, 42010-JUN-26, at: http://www.starobserver.com.au/
5. "Iceland passes gay marriage law in unanimous vote," Reuters, 2010-JUN-11, at: http://www.reuters.com/
6. Liam Reid and Joe Humphreys, "Gay marriage under focus in review of family rights," The Irish Times, 2004-OCT-18, at: http://www.ireland.com/
7. "Mexico City legalises same-sex marriage," Associated Press, 2009-DEC-22, at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/
8. Uruguay Passes Homosexual Civil Union Law. First Latin American country to cave in to mounting homosexual rights pressure,"LifeSiteNews.com, 2007-DEC-20, at: http://www.lifesitenews.com/
9. Andrea Botha, "Irish Ruling on gay marriage," 2004-SEP-11, News24.com, at: http://www.news24.com/
10. "Portugal blocks lesbian marriage," BBC News, 2006-FEB-02, at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/
11. "Same-sex marriage law backed in Portugal's parliament," BBC News, 2010-JAN-08, at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/
13. "Portugal lesbian couple in nation's first gay marriage," BBC News, 2010-JUN-07, at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/

Copyright © 2002 to 2010 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally written: 2002-SEP-24
Latest update: 2010-JUN-29
Author: B.A. Robinson

Web ReligiousTolerance.org

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