The Norwegian
government proposed a new marriage law Friday in
Oslo that would give gay couples the same rights as
heterosexual pairs, including church weddings,
adoption and assisted pregnancies.
It was not
immediately clear whether the proposal would make it through
parliament without changes. Even though the Labor-led
coalition has a majority in the legislature, one of
the three parties, Center, has said its
representatives will be allowed to vote according to their
consciences.
''This new
marriage law is a step forward along the lines of voting
rights for all and equality laws,'' said minister of
Children and Equality Anniken Huitfeldt.
The new
legislation would replace a 1993 law that gives gays the
right to enter civil unions similar to marriage, but
refuses them the right to church weddings or to be
considered as adoptive parents.
Like parliament,
the three-party coalition was split on key points of the
new law. For the first time since Prime Minister Jens
Stoltenberg's government took office in October 2005,
there was open dissent in the cabinet over a legal
proposal.
Minister of Local
Government Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa and Transport
minister Liv Signe Navarsete said they could not support the
right to assisted pregnancies for lesbian couples, but
endorsed the remainder of the bill.
Parliament's
second-largest bloc, the Party of Progress, and the smaller
Christian Democratic Party both immediately said they would
oppose the bill.
Huitfeldt, the
government minister, said the law is important in assuring
the rights and acceptance of all couples, and to protect
their children.
''The new law
does not weaken the institution of marriage; rather, it
strengthens it, '' she said. ''Marriage does not become less
valuable because more people can take part in it.''
The proposed law
gives couples the right to a church wedding, but does
not require any clergyman or religious organization to
perform the ceremony. It said couples wanting to be
married in church can do so in churches that consent.
About 85% of
Norway's 4.7 million people are registered as members of the
state Lutheran Church of Norway, although far fewer are
active. The church is split on the issue of gay
marriage, and was likely to allow each congregation to
decide whether to conduct same-sex weddings, as it did
last year in allowing parishes to decide whether to accept
clergymen living in gay partnerships.
In 1989, Denmark
became the world's first country to allow civil unions
for gays, similar to Norway's current law. In 2001, the
Netherlands became the first country to offer full
marriage rights to gay couples. (AP)
