Greenland approves gay marriage

Unanimous parliament ratifies historic law

A unanimous vote by Greenland’s parliament, Landstinget Inatsisartut, yesterday ratified gay marriage, according to the Greenlandic broadcasting corporation KNR.

The law change had originally been proposed in 2010 by the Demokraterne party in a bid to modernise Greenland’s marriage legislation.

“Finally, I say. It’s been a five-year battle,” Justus Hansen, a spokesperson for Demokraterne, told KNR.

“It was a massive day yesterday and a great day back when we urged the Danish government to take up the issue. Being gay is not something they’ve chosen for themselves, and it’s an acceptance we need here in Greenland and in the rest of the world.”

READ MORE: Gay marriage legalised

Danish footsteps
All 27 members of Landstinget Inatsisartut voted in favour of gay marriage. The law will come into effect on October 1.

While Denmark was the first country in the world to legally recognise same-sex couples in registered partnerships in 1989, gay marriage didn’t become legal until 2012.





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