Nordic nations at forefront on LGBT equality, neighbors not

Iceland’s prime minister made history earlier this summer when she wed her girlfriend, becoming the world’s first head of government to enter a gay marriage.

But fellow Nordic nations hardly noticed when 67-year-old Johanna Sigurdardottir tied the knot with her longtime partner – a milestone that would still, despite advances in gay rights, be all but inconceivable elsewhere. Scandinavia has had a long tradition of tolerance.

“There is some kind of passion for social justice here,” respected cross-dressing Swedish lawmaker Fredrick Federley said. “That everybody should be treated the same.”

Nordic nations at LGBT equality forefront

German court: Gay marriage is only ‘partnership’

A Berlin court declined to set a precedent by recognizing a gay marriage performed in Canada, ruling in late June that the union would only be considered a civil partnership in Germany.

German law defines marriage as exclusively between men and women. It allows civil partnerships between same-sex couples.

Andreas Boettcher, a 37-year-old German event manager, married his Spanish partner, a dancer and choreographer, in Montreal in July 2006. He asked a Berlin administrative court to recognize the relationship as a marriage after local authorities listed him as “single” on his registration card in November, despite his Canadian marriage certificate and a family registry entry from Spain that names him as the husband of his partner.

Boettcher said the couple, who have been together for 17 years, decided to marry in Canada about six months before they took a trip there to participate in a sporting event.

Spain and five other countries in Europe let same-sex couples wed. In the United States, six states and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriages.

“The German authorities would have had no problems, had (he) been an Isabel,” said Boettcher, who asked that his husband not be identified.

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Thousands celebrate Berlin’s gay pride parade

Tens of thousands of gays, lesbians and other revelers marched and danced in downtown Berlin for the German capital’s annual gay pride celebration in late June, which featured a colorful parade through the heart of the city.

Under the motto “Normal is different,” an estimated 250,000 people lined the route for the Christopher Street Day parade, as some 50 floats carrying dancers wove through the city streets.

Christopher Street Day commemorates the start of the gay rights movement in New York’s Greenwich Village in 1969 and the parade generally draws large crowds in Berlin, which has a history as a gay metropolis going back as far as the 19th century.

– AP

Lesbian couple first to wed in Portugal

A lesbian couple wed June 7 in Portugal’s first same-sex ceremony since the predominantly Catholic country introduced a law allowing gay marriage last month.

Teresa Pires and Helena Paixao, who have been together since 2003, married in a 15-minute ceremony at a Lisbon registry office.

“This is a great victory, a dream come true,” Pires said as the couple kissed and hugged.

“Now we’re a family, that’s the important thing,” Pires said, adding they would continue to fight for equal rights for gays, including adoption.

The ceremony came less than a month after Portugal’s conservative president ratified a gay marriage law passed by Parliament in January. His approval made Portugal the sixth in Europe to let same-sex couples wed.

The center-left Socialist government said the law is part of its effort to modernize Portugal, where same-sex sex was a crime until 1982. Three years ago, the same government lifted Portugal’s ban on abortion, despite church opposition.

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