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| Gay marriages were introduced in Denmark by law of June 7, 1989. It has the form of a registered partnership (Danish: "registreret partnerskab"), but is a marriage in almost every sense. All legal and fiscal rights and obligations are as for a heterosexual marriage, with four exceptions: | Gay marriages were introduced in Denmark by law of June 7, 1989. It has the form of a registered partnership (Danish: "registreret partnerskab"), but is a marriage in almost every sense. All legal and fiscal rights and obligations are as for a heterosexual marriage, with four exceptions: | ||
| * registered partners cannot adopt, |
* registered partners cannot adopt, with the exception that one party can adopt the biological children of the other | ||
| * registered partners cannot have joint custody of a child, except by adoption | * registered partners cannot have joint custody of a child, except by adoption | ||
| * laws making explicit reference to the sexes of a married couple don't apply to registered partnerships | * laws making explicit reference to the sexes of a married couple don't apply to registered partnerships | ||
Revision as of 18:40, 11 April 2002
Gay marriage is marriage in which both participants are of the same gender. Gay marriages are currently only allowed in the Netherlands. A small but increasing number of jurisdictions recognize gay civil unions or "registered partnerships", which provide much of the same rights and responsibilites as marriage but use a different name for the arrangement. Examples are Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland the United States state of Vermont. Many more areas in the world (usually local municipalites and counties) allow domestic partnerships that have varying degrees of privileges and responsibilities, usually far fewer than those found in civil unions.
Gay marriage in Denmark
Gay marriages were introduced in Denmark by law of June 7, 1989. It has the form of a registered partnership (Danish: "registreret partnerskab"), but is a marriage in almost every sense. All legal and fiscal rights and obligations are as for a heterosexual marriage, with four exceptions:
- registered partners cannot adopt, with the exception that one party can adopt the biological children of the other
- registered partners cannot have joint custody of a child, except by adoption
- laws making explicit reference to the sexes of a married couple don't apply to registered partnerships
- regulations by international treaties do not apply unless all signatories agree.
Registered partnership is by civil ceremony only. The Danish state church has yet to decide how to handle the issue, but the general attitude of the church seems positive but hesitant. Some priests perform blessings of gay couples, and this is accepted by the church, which states that the church blesses people, not institutions.
Divorce for registered partners follow the same rules as ordinary divorces.
Only citizens of Denmark, Holland, Sweden, Norway and Iceland can enter a registered partnership in Denmark. This list is adjusted whenever a new country introduces gay marriage. This rule excludes foreigners from entering gay marriages that won't be legally valid in their home country.
As of January 1, 2002 there were more than 2000 registered partnerships in Denmark, of which 220 had children.