As this piece points out, Denmark was the first European nation to legalize civil unions for same sex couples, but this move for full marriage equality has been a long time coming:
Denmark is poised to become just the eighth country in Europe to recognize same-sex civil marriages. While many countries recognize same-sex civil unions of various stripes, few are yet willing to support the full notion of same-sex marriage.
The Danish government is set to introduce a bill in early 2012 that will allow homosexuals the opportunity to marry in the Church of Denmark. While Denmark was the first country to allow same-sex civil union in 1989, the country stopped short of allowing same-sex marriage, the sticking point for many in the ongoing debate over whether homosexuals should be allowed to marry, as opposed to merely forming civil unions.
According to The Advocate, upwards of 70 per cent of the Danish population are in favour of allowing same-sex couples to legally marry in the Church of Denmark. Yet the leap from civil union to marriage has been over twenty years in the making.
Good news. The march does move forward. Of course, there are critics, some similar to what we’re used to in the United States, but the article reports that some Danes are cynical that this is just a push to get more people coming to church. Unlike in the United States, Danish citizens support the Church of Denmark with their tax money, even though virtually no one attends services.
It seems that western Europe is the progessive trendsetter nowadays. Finland will probably be next. Now that the UK is to begin a marriage equality consultation in March 2012, the first ever by a conservative government anywhere, others will get on board. Once Sarkozy of France is gone, I won’t be surprised to see that country follow suit. Two major European players will have a significant impact on other member states in the EU.
Man, those Vikings are always ahead of us. They have the best social safety nets, are the most socially progressive countries and according to sociologists, also the happiest. On the ‘happy’ scale, I think the US was somewhere around 19th.
And probably dropping…..
Gary, we can’t have that sort of thing in the US now can we, too much socialism for the GOP nutbags. I also think once the UK legalizes it before the 2015 election as quoted by Prime Minister David Cameron, one of the five permanent members of the UN, this will have significance for the US and others. With France and Germany following suit, even more so. We’ll resemble a sosical backwater.
Gary, we can’t have that sort of thing in the US now can we, too much socialism for the GOP nutbags. I also think once the UK legalizes it before the 2015 election as quoted by Prime Minister David Cameron, one of the five permanent members of the UN, this will have significance for the US and others. With France and Germany following suit, even more so. We’ll resemble a social backwater if not already.
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