Civil union in Sweden
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Registered partnership was granted in Sweden in 1995. Sweden was the third country to legally recognise same-sex unions, after Denmark and Norway.
The Registered Partnership Act grants full range of protections, responsibilities and benefits as marriage, including adoption and arrangements for the breakdown of the relationship only available to same-sex couples. Same-sex registered partners can adopt jointly. In vitro fertilisation for lesbian couples was allowed in 2005. Non-Swedes who are legally resident in Sweden have the right to enter into the registered partnership since 2000.
The main distinction between registered partnership and marriage is that they are covered by separate laws, and that same-sex partnerships are a civil matter and cannot be conducted through the church authority (although the Church of Sweden recently approved a ceremony to bless same-sex partnerships). Many people have complained about this inequality, asking for a gender-neutral marriage law. Many would even like a gender-neutral marriage that would conducted solely by the state, as is done in several other countries, rather than the current system in which churches have the authority to (legally) marry people, because this would further the separation of church and state.
In Swedish society, same-sex partnerships are generally considered to be on an equal plane as heterosexual marriage, and the phrase "gifta sig" which means to get married is commonly used by same-sex couples.
Sweden also has a separate and more limited common-law 'marriage' Act for both unmarried/unregistered heterosexual and homosexual couples. From 1988 to 2003, there were two different laws, one for opposite-sex couples and one for same-sex couples, which now is united into one single law. Common-law 'marriage' is open to non-Swedes, which means that one does not have to be married to move to Sweden to live with one's partner. Non-Swedes have the same rights of common-law 'marriage'.
In 2004, the Parliament created a committee to investigate the possibility of opening marriage to same-sex partners. The report, issued in March, 2007, supported enacting a gender-neutral marriage law and abolishing the registered partnership law (registered partnerships would be automatically converted into marriages) while granting an "opt-out" to religious institutions, which would allow them to refuse to marry same-sex couples. The committee further suggested that the government bring the changes into effect by 1 January 2008. This last point has been quite controversial, and has increased the calls for a civil-only marriage law.
At present, six out of seven political parties of the national parliament are in favour of such a reform. These are the Left Party, the Greens, the Social Democrats, the liberal Peoples Party and the Centre Party. The Moderates have just joined the list. The Christian Democrats oppose the idea, while the conservative/liberal Moderates have signed on their support at their party congress in 2007. The great majority of Swedes approve of same-sex marriage, but there has been some strong opposition from religious organisations and other self-described "family-oriented" groups.
Many have complained about the slowly advancing governmental process of changing partnership into marriage, especially as the two types of unions are already essentially the same and many consider the change inevitable and natural. They say there is no validity in the argument that same-sex marriage would threaten traditional marriage, because a gender-neutral marriage would have no greater impact on society than the current law, which notably had a positive impact on marriage rates among heterosexuals in Sweden. It is simply a matter of principle and equality, they argue. For the opposition, they see it as a threat to the symbolic value of marriage, but it can be argued that in a highly secular and modern society like Sweden this is not relevant.
It is hardly surprising, considering Swedish government and society, that the Swedish government would choose to open up an investigation (utredning) on the issue of same-sex marriage, rather than legalising it quickly as in other countries, as Swedes tend to be meticulous and cautious, often favouring a lengthy discussion and decision-making process, to make sure everything is done right. But it is predicted that Sweden may create a gender-neutral marriage law within the next few years, especially since the Social Democrats recently approved legalising gender-neutral marriage during their congress last year. The Green Party, the Left Party and the Social Democrats have joined together in a threat to put forward a proposal for the gender-neutral law if the government does not act quickly. Between them, they have enough votes to pass the change of law. They would be joined by the Liberal (People's) Party, the Center Party and the Moderates, so it's only the Christdemocrats left that don't support that law, but because of an alliance that the latter four have signed, it's getting repudiated.
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