Sweden Closes in on Same-Sex Marriage

Sweden's parliament is considering a proposal stating that “a person’s gender will no longer have any bearing on whether they can marry.” The proposal would render current marriage and partnership laws gender-neutral, allowing gays the option to wed in the Lutheran Church. The proposal also states that pastors who do not want to perform a same-sex wedding have the right to refuse.

Currently, same-sex couples are allowed to register only their “partnerships” in a civil ceremony, a union that gives gays and lesbians the same status as married couples, an option granted in Sweden in 1995.

The highly favored proposal is expected to pass, though no official date has been set for a vote.

Sweden was also the first country to allow same-sex couples the right to adopt children, in 1995.