T O P I C R E V I E W
Touchstone
Member # 3659
posted 08-09-2001 09:06 PM
I know little of this topic, but heard it on NPR, and thought it would be of interest to this forum. In germany, gay couples are allowed to register as couples, there are many restrictions placed upon them, they cannot adopt children, and there are last name restrictions. also i know that german courts are looking into if this law is contradictory to their constitution.
as i said, the little i know is from national public radio, and they only had a short proogram on it, and i was playing Everquest at the time, but i payed as much attention as i could, sounded like an interesting topic
Zeno
Member # 5125
posted 08-11-2001 03:55 PM
In the Netherlands, where I live, gay couples are allowed to register as couples for a few years now. Since about half a year they can also marry (through the state that is, but if any religious institute is willing to affirm the marriage, they may). In Belgium a law which makes gay marriage possible is to be accepted by the parliament, I believe. The gay marriage in the Netherlands is totally equal to a heterosexual marriage, except for a few minor points, which I forgot. Gay couples (not necessarily married ones) can also adopt children. Personally, I think this is a great development and I hope other countries will follow. However, I am afraid that the US will not anytime soon. Part of the reason why these laws could be accepted was that Christian parties and the Church in general are both a relatively small political factor in Europe (about 36/150 of the seats in the Dutch parliament are of Christian parties). This is of course not true for the US.What do other people think? A good idea, or have we Europeans gone overboard?
morganlh85
Member # 785
posted 08-16-2001 11:41 PM
I find myself really wanting to move to Europe now...people seem to have a lot more real freedom over there...
Confused boy
Member # 1964
posted 08-17-2001 07:09 AM
Not England thought. At the moment our poor excuse for a Prime Minister is sucking up to Mr Bush so dont expect any sweeping reforms in our law for now. Though I think gay couples can gain the tax benefits that are the same as being married. They just cant "officially" be married.------------------ 'An Anarchist is a Liberal with a bomb' Trotsky
Milke
Member # 961
posted 08-17-2001 11:28 AM
Zeno, any country that treats gay people like people, rather than something wrong and unnatural which needs to be banned, is a great thing.