Sweden Allows Same-Sex Marriage

World | April 2, 2009, Thursday // 12:41
Sweden Allows Same-Sex Marriage: Sweden Allows Same-Sex Marriage With the new Swedish "sex-neutral" law, sex will no longer matter when two people want to get married. Photo by propeller.com

Sweden's parliament approved Wednesday same-sex marriage legislation, which will take effect on May 1.

Previously, two people of the same sex could register their partnership. With the new "sex-neutral" law, sex will no longer matter when two people want to get married. Couples who already had a registered partnership can now either stay in that union or transform it into a marriage if they wish, the Parliament web site said.

"Unfortunately this is not an April Fool's Day joke, this is reality," Yvonne Andersson, member of the Swedish parliament for the Christian Democrats, wrote on the party's Web site following the vote. The Christian Democrats was the only party opposed to the new law.

The party had instead proposed a law that would remove the word "marriage" from Swedish law and replace it with a legally binding union between two persons, thus separating it from the Christian ceremony that the church conducts.

"This was the last area where same sex couples were treated differently. Wednesday's vote means a very important change in Swedish law", secretary general of the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education, Asa Regner, told CNN.

 

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!

World » Be a reporter: Write and send your article
Tags: Sweden, gay, sex, marriage

Advertisement
Advertisement
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news provider in English that informs its readers about the latest Bulgarian news. The editorial staff also publishes a daily online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News publish the latest economic, political and cultural news that take place in Bulgaria. Foreign media analysis on Bulgaria and World News in Brief are also part of the web site and the online newspaper. News Bulgaria