Same-sex marriage in Austria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Same-sex marriage |
|---|
| Performed nationwide in |
|
Netherlands (2001) |
| Performed statewide in |
| Massachusetts, USA (2004) |
| Foreign same-sex marriage recognized in |
| Israel (2006) |
| Debate in other countries and regions |
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Aruba |
| See also |
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Civil union |
Same-sex marriage is not currently legal in Austria and the government has rejected calls for partner rights to be extended to same-sex couples.
However, on July 5, 2006, Austria saw its first same-sex marriage indirectly, when its constitutional court granted a transsexual woman the right to change her legal gender to female while remaining married to her wife. <ref>"Austria gets first same-sex marriage." 365gay.com. 5 July 2006. (Retrieved 5 July 2006)</ref> The court ruled that "changing a sex entry in a birth certificate cannot be hindered by marriage." <ref> "Gay marriage, by default." News24.com. 5 July 2006. (Retrieved 5 July 2006)</ref> The court did not release the names of the spouses. Gay activists praised the ruling, saying that it ends "forcible divorce" for married couples in which one of the partners comes out as transsexual. <ref>"Sex change means Austria gets first gay union." Independent Online. 5 July 2006. (Retrieved 5 July 2006)</ref>
The government announced it was studying the ruling. The interior ministry is run by the Austrian People's Party that opposes any kind of legal recognition of homosexual partnerships, while the justice ministry is run by the Alliance for the Future of Austria, whose minister Karin Gastinger has spoken out in favour of civil unions. Therefore, any kind of legalisation of civil unions, let alone same-sex marriage is unlikely under the current government; the Greens are in favour of same-sex marriage, as is the Social Democratic Party.
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