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ILGLA Banned from UN Racism Conference |
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By Rex Wockner
Germany's Gay Partnership Law Takes Effect
In Hamburg, 15 couples got hitched the first day. "For gays and lesbians in Germany it's a huge step forward after a long battle," said openly gay Member of Parliament Volker Beck. "The law will make a lot of people very happy." The law grants registered gay couples marriage rights and obligations in areas such as inheritance, health insurance, immigration, name changes and alimony. It withholds marriage rights in the areas of adoption, taxation, pensions and social-welfare benefits. Legal efforts by two states to overturn the law were rejected by the Constitutional Court on July 18. Elsewhere, registered gay couples have nearly all rights of marriage in Denmark, France, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, and the U.S. state of Vermont. The Netherlands lets gays marry under the same laws as heterosexual couples. Court rulings have given gay couples many marriage rights in Canada and Hungary.
The countries that supported ILGA's involvement are Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Monaco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. Those that opposed ILGA are Algeria, Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Botswana, Brunei, China, North Korea, Egypt, Gabon, Ghana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mongolia, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates, Vatican City and Vietnam. The nations that declined to cast a vote are Argentina, Armenia, Barbados, Bhutan, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire), Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Mauritius, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Rwanda, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela and Yugoslavia. Eighty other nations were not present for the vote. |
Gay german couples now can have partnership rights, though the law doesn't goes as far as recognizing gay marriages, into which
Dutch couples (above) can enter. 