Norway Adopts Gay Marriage Law

Norway has joined the list of nations now affording full marriage rights to gay couples after the passage of legislation yesterday in the Norwegian Parliament - even as Christianists in the USA seek to undo the May 15th ruling of the California Supreme Court that allows gay marriage in California. Now six (6) nations allow full gay marriage. Here are highlights from 365gay.com:

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(Oslo) The gallery at the Norwegian Parliament erupted in applause and cheers on Wednesday with the passage of legislation allowing same-sex couples to marry. The law also recognizes both partners in a marriage as equal parents and gives lesbian couples the same access to "medically assisted reproduction" as opposite-sex couples. Parliament voted overwhelmingly to approve the bill, despite opposition from the Christian Democrats and Progress Party.

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The country already allowed gay and lesbian couples to enter into civil partnerships, but LGBT rights groups had long complained the law did not go far enough and had created two classes of citizenship - one for heterosexuals the other for gays. The new law amends the definition of civil marriage to make it gender neutral.

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Under the law the Church of Norway would be allowed to bless same-sex marriages. About 85 percent of Norway's 4.7 million people are registered as members of the state Lutheran Church of Norway. . . . The church is split on the issue of gay marriage, and is likely to allow each congregation to decide whether to conduct homosexual weddings, as it did last year in allowing parishes to decide whether to accept clergymen living in gay partnerships.

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Passage of the law makes Norway the sixth country in the world to approve same-sex marriages.