Registered partnership in Iceland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Registered partnerships (staðfest samvist) for gay and lesbian couples were introduced in Iceland in 1996.
The legislation grants the full range of protections, responsibilities and benefits as marriage, and is only available to same-sex couples. A registered partner can adopt the other partner’s child, unless the child is adopted from a foreign country. All parties in Alþingi, the Icelandic parliament, were in favour of the law; only one member of the conservative Independence Party (Sjálfstæðisflokkurinn) voted against it.
On June 2 2006 the Parliament voted for legislation granting the same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexuals in adoption, parenting and assisted insemination treatment. No member of the parliament voted against the proposal. The law came into effect on June 27 2006. [1]
A law amendment which took force on June 27, 2008 allows the Church of Iceland and other religious groups to bless same-sex registered partnerships.[2]
Notable Icelandic individuals joined in civil union include the current Prime Minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, and her partner, Jónína Leósdóttir. [3][4]
[edit] Same-sex marriage
The new Government of Iceland, elected in April 2009, intends to introduce a gender-neutral Marriage Act at some point in the future. The 'Government Coalition Platform of the Social Democratic Alliance and Left-Green Movement', published on the 19th May 2009 states, "A single marriage act will be adopted." Though it is not explicitly stated, it certainly implies that this act will be gender-neutral.[5] Although no official statement has yet been made on when a gender-neutral marriage law will be introduced, some sources state that this will occur in late 2009.[6]
On 18 November 2009, the Minister of Justice and Human Rights, Ragna Árnadóttir, confirmed that the government was working on a "single marriage act" which would include both opposite-sex and same-sex couples.[7]
The opposition Progress Party has also announced its support for gender-neutral marriage.[8]
[edit] References
- ^ Samtökin
- ^ First Lesbian Couple in Iceland “Marries” in Church
- ^ Prime Minister of Iceland Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, Prime Minister's Office, http://eng.forsaetisraduneyti.is/minister/cv, retrieved 2 February 2009
- ^ Peter Popham (29 January 2009), World gets its first gay leader, The Independent, http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/world-gets-its-first-gay-leader-1519068.html
- ^ http://eng.forsaetisraduneyti.is/news-and-articles/nr/3730
- ^ Iceland: Homosexuality and the Law, GayIce.is
- ^ Unnið að setningu einna hjúskaparlaga, mbl.is, 18 November 2009
- ^ [1]
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
This article about lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender-related law is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 |
This Iceland-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
