瑞典成全球第七個允许同性婚姻國家

瑞典以压倒性多数通过允许同性结婚的法案

          瑞典议会于4月1日以压倒性多数票通过了有关允许同性之间结婚的法案。在表决中，共有261名议员投了赞同票，投反对票的仅有22人，此外，还有16名议员弃权。此前，瑞典国内对该法案的讨论已持续了3年时间。

            基于这一法案，瑞典的婚姻法律定义将从一对男女异性之间被改为不限定性别的两个人之间，从而实现对同性婚姻的承认，也保障同性婚姻与异性婚姻享有平等的地位和权利。法案同时允许教会人员有权自行选择是否为同性恋人主持婚礼仪式。

　　这项允许同性之间结婚的法案将于今年5月1日正式生效。


　　瑞典执政联盟在今年年初便已制定了有关取消婚姻法中对双方性别限制的法律草案。


　　需要提醒的是，在最近几年中，包括丹麦、挪威、荷兰、法国等一系列欧洲均已通过了有关允许同性之间登记为伴侣关系的专门法律。但由于存在着一系列限制，在这些国家中，这种所谓的“伴侣关系”还称不上是完全的婚姻关系。


　　全球首个允许同性结婚的国家是荷兰，在其之后，比利时和其他一些欧盟成员国也先后采取了相同的举措。除此之外，荷兰还在2001年允许同性婚姻家庭收养子女。

Sweden allows same-sex marriage

Sweden will allow homosexuals to legally marry from May this year after parliament on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly in favor of the move.

The change in the law, which currently allows gay couples to register unions but not formal marriage, comes into force on May 1 this year under the timetable set out in the bill.

Scandinavian countries, known for their liberal attitudes toward gays and lesbians, were among the first countries in Europe to grant same-sex partners the same rights as married couples.

Sweden gave same-sex couples the right to form a union via registered partnerships in the mid-nineties and made it legal for them to adopt in 2002.

The passage of the bill was widely expected and the final tally was 261 votes in favor of the bill and 22 opposed.

"The decision means that gender no longer has an impact on the ability to marry and that the law on registered partnership is repealed," the government said on its website.

The Christian Democrats, part of the four-party coalition government, refused to back the bill.

The new legislation eliminates legal distinctions between heterosexual and homosexual spouses, but does not force dissenting clergy to wed gay couples.

The Swedish Lutheran church, which split from the state in 2000, has said it was open to celebrating and registering same-sex unions, although it wanted to reserve the term matrimony for heterosexual marriages.