Denmark to introduce gay marriage next year
{jcomments off}The Danish government is planning to introduce gay marriage legislation in the new year with the hope that gay marriage will become a reality for Danes by the Spring.
The Scandinavian country is planning to pass legislation in parliament to legalise gay marriage in Denmark. The news was revealed by Manu Sareen who the Church Minister in the Danish coalition government. The minister told the Jyllands-Posten newspaper that gay couples will ‘hopefully’ be able to marry by the Spring of 2012 adding “I look forward to the moment the first homosexual couple steps out of the church. I’ll be standing out there throwing rice. I have many friends who are homosexuals and can’t get married. They love their partners the same way heterosexuals do, but they don’t have the right to live it out in the same way. That’s really problematic.”
It goes without saying though that sadly marriage equality in Denmark isn’t welcome by all with some religious leaders opposing the plans fearing it will cause a spilt in the Church of Denmark. Henrik Hojlund, of the Evangelical Lutheran Network, said gay marriage would be “fatal” for the Church and told the same newspaper “The Church of Denmark is being secularised right up to the alter in a desperate and mistaken attempt to meet modern people halfway.”
A number of countries around the world are now moving towards marriage equality though religious opposition is always present. Closer to home in Scotland the SNP led administration is holding a public consultation on legalising gay marriage but has encountered heavy opposition from the Catholic Church despite opinion polls putting support for marriage equality at 61%. The Con-Dem Coalition in London is also planning to hold a consultation on gay marriage next year. The introduction of gay marriage in the UK has the support of David Cameron, the Prime Minister, as well as Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg and opposition leader Ed Miliband.
At present only a small number of countries have legalised gay marriage with Belgium, Canada, Norway, Iceland and Argentina amongst them. Countries which are currently debating gay marriage or will shortly do so include the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Finland, Colombia and Luxembourg.
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