116 Sentences With "registered partnership"

The distinction between marriage and registered partnership can no longer be upheld without discriminating against same-sex couples, the court said in a statement.

A fifth of French and Dutch cohabiting couples are in no form of registered partnership—the same share as in England, where marriage is the only option.

In March, Guido Westerwelle, a former foreign minister under Ms. Merkel who lived in a "registered partnership" and fought hard for gay rights, died of leukemia at the age of 54.

Notable Icelandic individuals joined in registered partnership included the then-Prime Minister, Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, and her partner, Jónína Leósdóttir. On 27 June 2010, they had their registered partnership transformed into a recognized marriage.

All parties in the Alþingi, the Icelandic Parliament, were in favour of the law. On 8 May 2000, the Icelandic Parliament approved amendments, in a 49-1 vote, to the registered partnership law. Foreigners could enter a registered partnership if they had been residing in Iceland for at least two years. Another amendment allowed for a person in a registered partnership to adopt the biological child of his or her partner, unless the child was adopted from a foreign country.

Application in Greenland of the registered partnership law was repealed the day the new marriage law took effect.

States would have to refer their residual powers to the Commonwealth to allow a national registered partnership, civil union or same- sex relationship scheme.

Names for the registered, formal, or solemnized combination of same-sex partners have included "domestic partnership", "civil union", "marriage", "registered partnership", "reciprocal beneficiary", and "same-sex union".

Plate first met Sommer in 1990, and they entered into a registered partnership in 2002."Peter Plate legt Pop auf" (in German). Berliner Zeitung. 11 October 2002.

In 2001, the Netherlands passed a law allowing same-sex couples to marry, in addition to its 1998 "registered partnership" law (civil union) for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

Siri Sunde (born 15 May 1958) is a Norwegian priest. She was the first open lesbian priest who entered into a registered partnership and retained her position in the Church of Norway.

The registered partnership law was supported by the government and all parties in the Landtag, but opposed by the socially conservative advocacy group "Vox Populi" and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vaduz.

He married Matti Kaarlejärvi in March 2017, being among the first same-sex couples to marry under the legislation change in Finland. They had lived together in a registered partnership since December 2015.

On 25 May 1989, Denmark wrote history as the first country to make it legal to be in a registered partnership with one of the same sex. A registered partnership was the same as a civil marriage, but was not seen as marriage in the eyes of the church. Axel and Eigil Axgil were the first ones to get married this way. On 7 June 2012, the Folketing (Danish Parliament) approved new laws regarding same-sex civil and religious marriage.

By 9 May 2011, 68,268 people reported being in a registered partnership. By the end of 2016, 44,000 registered partnerships had been conducted in Germany. Approximately 25,000 (56.8%) were between men, while 19,000 were between women (43.2%).

On 19 January 2001 she came out as a lesbian on the central news on the Bulgarian National Television. Petrova was the first publicly visible lesbian in Bulgaria, talking about LGBT rights. She is well known for campaigning in favor of anti-discrimination legislation and registered partnership. Petrova has also been involved in work groups for development of new laws, national plans and proposals for changes in the Bulgarian and EU legislation (Amendment of the Bulgarian Penal Code and development of the Bulgarian Act for Protection Against Discrimination, development of Law for Registered Partnership).

In 2001, the Free List, one of the three political parties in the country, began working on a draft for a same-sex partnership law. The paper was accepted by the Landtag and given to the Liechtenstein Government. The proposed registered partnership bill was rejected by the Parliament in summer 2003. A new proposal by the Free List was adopted by the Landtag with a majority of 19 votes to 6 on 24 October 2007. Justice Minister Aurelia Frick presented the draft of the registered partnership bill in April 2010.

Jones entered a registered partnership with her girlfriend, Nicole, in June 2014. She had come out publicly as a lesbian in February 2013. Jones' autobiography, Der Kick des Lebens (The Kick of Life), was released in August 2007.

Since 2001, Brunne has been in a registered partnership with Gunilla Lindén, who is also an ordained priest of the Church of Sweden. The couple's relationship received a church blessing and the two have a son, born c. 2005.

Ott came out at the age of 17. In August 2017 she entered into a registered partnership with her longtime girlfriend Karolina Köppen, which was rewritten as a marriage in October 2017. Köppen and her two children adopted Ott's surname.

There is legal recognition of same- sex couples. Since 2001, the Czech Republic has granted "persons living in a common household" inheritance and succession rights in housing, as well as hospital and prison visitation rights similar to married heterosexual couples. A bill legalizing registered partnership, with some of the rights of marriage, was rejected four times, in 1998, 1999, 2001 and 2005. However, on 16 December 2005, a new registered partnership bill was passed by the Czech House of Representatives; it was adopted by the Senate on 26 January 2006, but later vetoed by President Václav Klaus.

Major legal consequences of marriage, cohabitation, and registered partnership for different-sex and same-sex partners in the Netherlands. In: K. Waaldijk (eds.), more or less together: levels of legal consequences of marriage, cohabitation and registered countries. Paris: Institut National d’Etudes Démographiques, pp. 137-154.

In the Netherlands, persons who have been married in the Netherlands or entered into a registered partnership will remain registered under their birth name. They are, however, permitted to use their partner's last name for social purposes or join both names. Upon marriage or registered partnership, one may also indicate how one would like to be addressed by registering one's choice at the Municipal Basis Administration (Gemeentelijke Basis Administratie) (although the birth name does not change). One may choose to be called by one's own name, one's partner's name, one's own name followed by one's partner's name (hyphenated), or one's partner's name followed by their own name (hyphenated).

On September 22, 2002, voters in the Swiss canton of Zurich voted to extend a number of marriage rights to same-sex partners, including tax, inheritance, and social security benefits. The law is limited to same-sex couples, and both partners must have lived in the canton for six months and formally commit to running a household together and supporting and aiding each another. On November 12, 2003, the Constituent assembly of the Canton of Fribourg granted Registered Partnership as a constitutional right under the Article 14. On January 27, 2004, the Canton of Neuchâtel voted a law on cantonal level, the Partenariat enregistré (the Cantonal Registered Partnership).

The Court found that a registered partnership law that only applied to same-sex couples would be constitutional; indeed, it opined that the Parliament had a duty to introduce such a law. Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány instructed the Minister of Justice to draft a new, revised bill that would conform to the Court's decision. On 23 December 2008, the Hungarian Government announced that it would introduce a new registered partnership bill in line with the Constitutional Court's decision. The legislation would offer same-sex couples all of the rights offered by the previous act, and would be presented to Parliament as early as February 2009.

Registered partnership for same-sex couples was legalized in 2009, but same-sex marriage is banned. The Hungarian government has passed legislation that restricts the civil rights of LGBT Hungarians - such as ending legal recognition of transgender Hungarians - and this continues to deteriorate under the Fidesz government of Viktor Orbán.

Modig is openly lesbian and is a vegetarian. She was in a registered partnership with a Finnish artist and writer Rakel Liekki, but they broke up in October 2011. In June 2019, she married her partner Meri Valkama who is the Communications Manager and Group Secretary of the Left Alliance Helsinki District.

The > area in question must therefore still be regarded as one of evolving rights > with no established consensus, where States must also enjoy a margin of > appreciation in the timing of the introduction of legislative changes (..) > The Austrian Registered Partnership Act, which entered into force on 1 > January 2010, reflects the evolution described above and is thus part of the > emerging European consensus. Though not in the vanguard, the Austrian > legislator cannot be reproached for not having introduced the Registered > Partnership Act any earlierpar. 105-106 of the Judgment Judges Rozakis, Spielmann and Tulkens dissented in this respect, stating: > Having identified a “relevantly similar situation” (para. 99), and > emphasised that “differences based on sexual orientation require > particularly serious reasons by way of justification” (para.

According to a survey conducted in 2007 by the Union pour Monaco (UPM) party before the 2007 municipal elections, 51% of the respondents (only native Monegasque inhabitants asked) agreed that living in a registered partnership should be accepted. Monegasques being a minority in Monaco, the survey is not representative of the entire public's opinion.

Three referendums were held in Liechtenstein during 2011. The first on approving the registered partnership law was held between 17 and 19 June, and was approved by 68.8% of voters. The law went into effect on 1 September. The second was held on 18 September on allowing abortion within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy.

He was associated with the Danish Social Democrats in Denmark, and the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament. While sitting in the Folketing, he was one of the sponsors of the 1989 legislation that first legalized registered partnership for same-sex couples.Jan Lofstrom, Scandinavian Homosexualities: Essays on Gay and Lesbian Studies.

In 2000 the three worked for Greenwich NatWest, then a unit of National Westminster Bank, later acquired by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). The three were involved in Greenwich NatWest's dealings with Enron Corporation. As a result of these dealings NatWest owned a stake in a Cayman Islands-registered partnership called Swap Sub.Statement of Facts, section 8.

Ireland's first same-sex marriage ceremonies took place in November 2015. The Isle of Man has allowed civil partnerships since 2011, as well as Jersey in 2012. Both Crown dependencies legalised same- sex marriage later since 22 July 2016 and since 1 July 2018, respectively. Liechtenstein also legalised registered partnership by 68% of voters via a referendum in 2011.

The bill's final vote took place on 9 October, where it was passed 40–38. It was signed into law by President Toomas Hendrik Ilves that same day, becoming the Registered Partnership Act, and took effect on 1 January 2016. The campaign against the law was led by the Christian conservative foundation For Family and Tradition.

Skov met fellow handballer Lotte Kiærskou as teammates for Viborg HK, and "never had any thought to keep their relationship secret."2012 Olympics: Who Are The LGBT Athletes? Day Twenty — Rikke Skov They were in a registered partnership as allowed by Danish law. but split in 2011. Kiærskou, now retired, gave birth to the ex-couple’s two daughters.

Homosexuality in Hungary was decriminalized in 1962, Paragraph 199 of the Hungarian Penal Code from then on threatened "only" adults over 20 who engaged themselves in a consensual same-sex relationship with an underaged person between 14 and 20. Then in 1978 the age was lowered to 18. Since 2002, by the ruling of the Constitutional Court of Hungary repealed Paragraph 199 – Which provided an equal age of consent of 14, regardless of sexual orientation and/or gender. Since 1996, the Unregistered Cohabitation Act 1995 was provided for any couple, regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation and from 1 July 2009 the Registered Partnership Act 2009 becomes effective, and provides a registered partnership just for same-sex couples – since that opposite-sex already have marriage, this would in-turn create duplication.

Na Dúhový pochod prišli tisíce ľudí, potlesk zožala najmä ombudsmanka, ktorá sa nezľakla SNS (+fotogaléria) On 11 December 2017, following a meeting with Iniciatíva Inakosť representatives, President Andrej Kiska called for a public debate about the rights of same-sex couples.President Kiska calls for discussion on the rights of same-sex couples On the same day, SaS reiterated its intention to introduce the registered partnership bill. Tímlíderkou SaS pre osobné slobody sa stala Natália Blahová SaS introduced its registered partnership bill to the National Council in July 2018. Under the proposed bill, partnerships would have been open to both same- sex and opposite-sex couples and would have granted couples several rights and benefits enjoyed by married couples, namely in the area of inheritance and healthcare, among others.

Greenland adopted Denmark's registered partnership law on 1 July 1996. There was some opposition to registered partnerships from clergy and conservative lawmakers, who later chose to abstain from voting. The bill was passed in the Greenlandic Parliament 15–0 with 12 abstentions, and later by the Danish Parliament 104–1. The first same-sex couple to register did so in 2002.

A poll conducted in September 2012 found that 34% of Estonians supported same-sex marriage and 46% supported registered partnerships (in contrast to 60% and 45% that shared the opposing stance respectively). The poll found an ethnic divide: while 51% of ethnic Estonians supported registered partnerships, only 21% of ethnic Russians were of the same view. The same poll conducted in 2014 during the parliamentary debate on registered partnership revealed that the support dropped significantly with only 29% and 40% of respondents supporting same-sex marriage and registered partnership legislation respectively, and the level of opposition on both issues had increased to 64% and 54%. The 2015 Eurobarometer survey showed that 44% of Estonians supported gay, lesbian and bisexual people having the same equal rights as heterosexuals, while 45% were opposed. 40% of Estonians believed there is nothing wrong with homosexual relationships and 49% disagreed, while 31% of Estonians supported same-sex marriage and 58% were against. A poll conducted between 28 March 2017 to 10 April 2017 found that, while support for same-sex registered partnership legislation was unchanged in three years (45% vs 46%), support for same-sex marriages had increased to 39% with 52% against (compared to 60% against in 2012 and 64% against in 2014). It also found that acceptance of homosexuality had increased from 34% in 2012 to 41% in 2017, with 52% against.

Views among proponents vary whether such a ceremony should be called 'marriage' or merely 'registered partnership' (registreret partnerskab), as the present same-sex civil union is called. Most likely, clergy would be allowed to decide for themselves whether to perform same-sex marriages or not, similar to the right to deny remarriage of divorced persons (a policy employed by a conservative minority of priests).

Single gay, lesbian and bisexual persons may petition to adopt and same-sex couples are allowed to foster. Same-sex couples cannot adopt jointly because Estonian law states that only a married couple can do so. However, due to the Registered Partnership Act, couples are allowed to adopt stepchildren. In February 2017, the Tallinn Administrative Court allowed a lesbian woman to adopt her partner's children.

On 12 February 2009, the Hungarian Government approved the new bill. The bill was adopted by the Parliament on 20 April 2009. 199 MPs (the Hungarian Socialist Party and the Alliance of Free Democrats) voted for the bill, 159 MPs (Fidesz and the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP)) voted against it, and 8 unallied MPs abstained. The new registered partnership act took effect on 1 July 2009.

On 23 September 1999, the Latvian National Human Rights Office presented a registered partnership bill to the Saeima (Parliament). On 28 September 1999, the proposal was sent to the Human Rights and Public Affairs Commission of the Saeima for discussion.LATVIA: PARTNERSHIP LAW PRESENTED TO THE MEDIA AND SENT TO PARLIAMENTLATVIA: PROGRESS ON PARTNERSHIP LAW On 30 November 1999, the commission rejected the bill.LATVIA KILLS PARTNER MEASURE In January 2012, the Ombudsman's Office (the renamed National Human Rights Office since 2007) recommended that the Parliament not introduce same-sex registered partnerships. Letter No. 1-8/4 to parliamentary committees on human rights and legal affairs by the Ombudsman J. Jansons 26 January 2012 However, after Baltic Pride in June 2012, it was revealed that the Ministry of Justice was considering whether to recognise same-sex partnerships, either through unregistered cohabitation () or registered partnership (reģistrētās partnerattiecībās).

The United States is one of India's largest direct investors. From 1991 to 2004, the stock of FDI inflow has increased from US$11 million to $344.4 million, and totaling $4.13 billion. This is a compound rate increase of 57.5 percent annually. Indian direct investments abroad began in 1992, and Indian corporations and registered partnership firms are now allowed to invest in businesses up to 100 percent of their net worth.

The EAZW made it explicit, with reference to the principle of separation of powers, that the order is binding only for cantonal executive organs and not for cantonal courts of law. Victoire pour les trans suisses , 360.ch, retrieved on 11 May 2013 The Federal Office for Civil Registration also stated that a marriage can be converted into a registered partnership if one of the partners should register for gender recognition.

Based on experience from the test census, the electronic form was modified. It also showed that older respondents did not understand the term "registered partnership" and considered it equivalent to marriage. The test census encountered some minor problems with the distribution of forms which also occurred during the 2011 census. Respondents who wished to enroll as a faith jediism were allowed to in the 2011 census according to the CSO.

7 bodov pre krajšie a zdravšie Slovensko "podpora registrovaných partnerstiev medzi ľuďmi rozdielneho aj rovnakého pohlavia" In March 2012, the liberal Freedom and Solidarity (SaS) party announced that it would submit a draft law on registered partnerships.SaS predloží partnerstvá gejov Denník SME, 2012 On August 23, the registered partnership bill was submitted to Parliament, which would have given same-sex couples similar rights and obligations as married couples, including alimony, inheritance, access to medical documentation and the right to a widow's/widower's pension, but excluding adoption rights.SaS proposes same-sex registered partnership Denník SME, 2012Návrh zákona o registrovanom partnerstve On September 19, the ruling party, Direction - Social Democracy (Smer) announced that it would vote against the bill,Vládny Smer-SD registrované partnerstvá homosexuálov nepodporí which was later rejected by 14-94.Slovak parliament rejects gay partnership law In August 2017, Deputy Speaker of the National Council Lucia Ďuriš Nicholsonová of SaS promised to re-submit draft legislation on registered partnerships to Parliament.

After completing the matriculation examination of the upper secondary school, Haavisto began studying social sciences at the University of Helsinki but did not complete the degree. As a young man he chose non-military service over armed service in the Defence Forces. Haavisto is openly gay; he lives in a registered partnership with Nexar Antonio Flores, an Ecuadorian man since 2002, they have been together since 1997 when they met in a Bogota night club.

Nobs played harmonica on the opening track of the 1983 Chris Rea album Water Sign. In 2005, during the referendum campaign on registered partnership in Switzerland for same-sex couples he came out publicly to support the new law. At the time, Claude Nobs had been in a relationship with his partner, Thierry Amsallem, since 1987. On 24 December 2012, he had an accident while Nordic skiing in Switzerland and fell into a coma.

On 18 November 2004, two MPs from the Socialist Left Party introduced a bill to abolish the existing registered partnership law, and make the marriage law gender-neutral. The move was withdrawn and replaced by a request that the cabinet further investigate the issue. The conservative cabinet of that time did not look into the issue. However, the second Stoltenberg Cabinet announced a common, unified marriage act as part of its foundation document, the Soria Moria statement.

Axel Axgil (3 April 1915 – 29 October 2011) and Eigil Axgil (24 April 1922 – 22 September 1995) were Danish gay activists and a longtime couple. They were the first gay couple to enter into a registered partnership anywhere in the world following Denmark's legalisation of same-sex partnership registration in 1989, a landmark legislation which they were instrumental in bringing about. They adopted the shared surname, Axgil, a combination of their given names, as an expression of their commitment.

The legal mother of a child is its biological mother (article 1:198 of the civil law) and the father is (in principle) the man she is married to or in a registered partnership with when the child is born. Moreover, the father must be a man (article 1:199). The other partner could thus become a legal mother only through adoption. Only in the case when a biological father did not become a parent (e.g.

In 2000, she entered a registered partnership with Danish handball player Camilla Andersen, but the couple split three years later. Sports Illustrated ran a lengthy feature on the two, who are much- discussed celebrities in their countries. According to Sports Illustrated, Andersen had been the lover of handball legend Anja Andersen after they won the gold for Denmark in 1996. After her split from Andersen, Hundvin moved in with Norwegian snowboarder Terje Haakonsen, the world's top snowboarder in the 1990s.

Tasmania's Relationships Act 2003 provided for registration and recognition of a type of registered partnership in two distinct categories: Significant Relationships and Caring Relationships. The same Act also amended 73 pieces of legislation to provide registered partners with nearly all of the rights offered to married couples within the state. Furthermore, since July 2009, these relationships are recognised at federal level, providing couples with almost all of the federal rights and benefits of marriage. The legislation came into effect on 1 January 2004.

Tasmania's Relationships Act 2003 provides for registration and recognition of a type of registered partnership in two distinct categories: significant relationships and caring relationships. The same Act also amended 73 pieces of legislation to provide registered partners with nearly all of the rights offered to married couples within the state. Furthermore, since July 2009, these relationships are recognised at federal level, providing couples with almost all of the federal rights and benefits of marriage. The legislation came into effect on 1 January 2004.

After the LIF did not pass the four percent electoral threshold in the 1999 elections, the Social Democrats and the Green Party started to embrace this issue more. The SPÖ on its biannual Federal Party Convention made a decision on the issue of equal treatment of same-sex couples. They proposed a model of registered partnership ("Eingetragene Partnerschaft") including stepchild adoption. The Austrian Green Party proposed the civil pact ("Zivilpakt") as a somewhat similar model to that of the Social Democrats in 2004.

Legal, social, and religious restrictions apply in all countries on the genders of the couple. In response to changing social and political attitudes, some jurisdictions and religious denominations now recognize marriages between people of the same sex. Other jurisdictions have instead "civil unions" or "domestic partnerships", while additional others explicitly prohibit same-sex marriages. In 1989, Denmark became the first country in the modern era to give same-sex couples the right to formalize their relation as a registered partnership.

Same-sex marriage became legal in Norway on 1 January 2009 when a gender-neutral marriage bill was enacted after being passed by the Norwegian legislature, the Storting, in June 2008. Norway became the first Scandinavian country and the sixth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. Gender-neutral marriage replaced Norway's previous system of registered partnerships for same-sex couples. Couples in registered partnerships are able to retain that status or convert their registered partnership to a marriage.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the Faroe Islands are relatively similar to that of Denmark. The progress of LGBT rights has been slower, however. While same-sex sexual activity has been legal in the Faroe Islands since the 1930s, same-sex couples never had a right to a registered partnership. In April 2016, the Løgting (Faroese Parliament) passed legislation legalizing civil same-sex marriage on the Faroes, recognizing same-sex marriages established in Denmark and abroad and allowing same-sex adoption.

In April 2015, representatives of all four constituent countries agreed that same-sex couples should have equal rights throughout the Kingdom. The same month a registered partnership bill was submitted to the Estates of Aruba. On 22 August 2016, Desirée de Sousa-Croes, an openly gay MP, who married her same-sex partner in the Netherlands, introduced a bill to legalize registered partnerships. However, a vote on the bill was postponed to 8 September 2016 because some MPs still needed time to make up their minds.

The opposition Social Democrats and Liberals, arguing that the law proposed was too weak, refused to take part in the voting, leaving the chamber. The vote succeeded with 44 votes for and 3 against. A more comprehensive registered partnership bill passed the first reading in Parliament in July 2004, but was rejected by Parliament during the second reading in March 2005. Istospolni in heterospolni Zavrnili predlog zakona o istospolni zvezi The bill would have provided for all rights inherent to marriage apart from joint adoption rights.

In May 2013, it was announced that a draft law on same-sex partnerships would be introduced to the Serbian Parliament on 4 June. The law would allow hospital visitation and pension inheritance rights for same-sex partners, although it was not known whether this would be in the form of unregistered cohabitation or registered partnership. The draft bill stalled and never reached a vote. In June 2019, plans were announced to legalise domestic partnerships between same-sex couples by amending the Civil Code.

In January 2013, the Constitutional Court of Austria ruled that the registered partnership law was partially unconstitutional, broadening the rights of registered partners. On 19 February 2013, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in X and Others v. Austria that a partner in a same-sex union has the right to adopt his or her partner's biological child. On 5 July 2013, the Austrian Parliament passed the Adoptionsrechts-Änderungsgesetz 2013, allowing stepchild adoption by same-sex couples. The law entered into force on 1 August 2013.

On 5 September 2008 Nikolay Alexeyev became the first public figure in Russia's history to enter into a same-sex family union. The marriage ceremony took place in Geneva City Hall on the basis of the Swiss Federal Law on registered partnership. He has lived with his partner, a Swiss citizen named Pierre, since November 1999. In a 2006 interview Alexeyev called himself an Orthodox Christian, though he noted that he thinks about converting to Buddhism for its being "the World's most tolerant religion".

Beck served as spokesman of the Association of Lesbians and Gays in Germany (Lesben- und Schwulenverband in Deutschland) LSVD for over ten years. He is a supporter of same-sex marriage and has been referred to as the "Father of the German Registered Partnership Act". Beck served as spokesperson of the Green Party’s parliamentary group on legal affairs from 1994 to 2002, and as the Green Party Chief Whip in the Bundestag until 2013. He is spokesman of the Green Parliamentary Group for interior affairs and religion.

Previously, Norway had allowed same-sex registered partnerships (; ) since 1 August 1993, when a law regulating such partnerships came into force. Norway became the second country to do so, after Denmark, which implemented a registered partnership law in 1989. Registered partnerships were granted virtually all the protections, responsibilities and benefits of marriage, including arrangements for the breakdown of the relationship. Initially, the partnership law stated that registered partners could not adopt, and that only married couples or opposite-sex cohabiting couples could access artificial insemination.

Denmark shares strong cultural and historic ties with its Scandinavian neighbours Sweden and Norway. It has historically been one of the most socially progressive cultures in the world. In 1969, Denmark was the first country to legalise pornography, and in 2012, Denmark replaced its "registered partnership" laws, which it had been the first country to introduce in 1989,Sheila Rule: "Rights for Gay Couples in Denmark" – The New York Times. Published: 2 October 1989. Retrieved 7 June 2012 with gender-neutral marriage, and allowed same-sex marriages to be performed in the Church of Denmark.

The law took effect on 1 January 2009. Prior to the gender-neutral marriage law, a registered partnership law had been in effect since 1993. Partnerskapsloven, as it was known in Norwegian, granted many marriage rights to same-sex couples, only without calling it marriage. Since 1991, unregistered same-sex cohabitation has been recognized by the state for the granting of limited rights, such as being considered as next of kin for medical decisions, and in the event of wrongful death of one partner the other partner was entitled to compensation.

Before the 2008 elections, the Malta Gay Rights Movement sent a survey to all major political parties asking them for their views on the recognition of same-sex unions. None of the parties supported same-sex marriage, however all of them supported recognition of same-sex unions to some extent. The governing Nationalist Party supported extending some rights to cohabitating same-sex couples. The Labour Party supported recognising "same-sex families and partnerships", although it was unknown whether this would be in the form of unregistered cohabitation or registered partnership.

In June 2016, the Council of the European Union authorised 18 Member States of the European Union to initiate an enhanced cooperation in the area of jurisdiction, applicable law and the recognition and enforcement of decisions on the property regimes of international couples, covering both matters of matrimonial property regimes and the property consequences of registered partnership. Later that month, enhanced cooperation was implemented through Regulations EU 2016/1103 for married couples and EU 2016/1104 for registered partnerships, both of which will fully apply from 29 January 2019.

Brunne lives in a registered partnership with another woman, and they have a son. Likewise, the Danish National Church, the Church of Norway, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Church of Iceland permit the ordination of openly LGBT clergy. In Germany, the Lutheran, United and Reformed churches as part of the Evangelical Church ordain openly LGBT Christian clergy. In 2008, the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church announced that Horst Gorski, who was openly gay, had been nominated as a Lutheran bishop, but he did not make election.

The reforms ensured that same-sex couples were (for the first time under Australian law) recognised as a couple akin to opposite-sex partners. Consequently, a same-sex couple receives the same rate of social security and family assistance payments as an opposite-sex couple. Despite large equality of rights, Australia cannot have a national registered partnership, civil union or same-sex relationship scheme as a result of constitutional limitations. Under the Australian Constitution, the Federal Government only has certain enumerated powers, which under Section 51(xxi) merely relate to "marriage".

The registered partnership law (Lebenspartnerschaft) was passed unanimously by the Landtag of Liechtenstein in the second reading on March 16 and published on March 21, 2011. However, the group Vox Populi, led by a cousin of archbishop Wolfgang Haas, announced its intention to force a referendum. According to the constitution, the organisation had until 21 April (30 days) to collect at least 1000 signatures. Because the necessary signatures were gathered (1208 valid signatures), a referendum was held on the evening of 17 June and the morning of 19 June 2011.

A bill was proposed on 18 November 2004 by two MPs from the Socialist Left Party to abolish the existing registered partnership law, and make the marriage law gender-neutral. The move was withdrawn and replaced by a request that the cabinet further investigate the issue. The Conservative cabinet of that time did not look into the issue. However, the Stoltenberg's Second Cabinet announced a common, unified marriage act as part of its foundation document, the First Declaration of Soria Moria. A public hearing was opened on 16 May 2007.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in Greenland are some of the most extensive in the Americas and the world, relatively similar to those in Denmark proper in Europe. Same-sex sexual activity is legal, with an equal age of consent, and there are some anti-discrimination laws protecting LGBT people. Same-sex couples had access to registered partnerships, which provided them with nearly all of the rights provided to married opposite-sex couples, from 1996 to 2016. On 1 April 2016, a law repealing the registered partnership act and allowing for same-sex marriages to be performed came into effect.

The party strictly opposed the civil partnership law on registered partnership for same-sex couples that was adopted by Riigikogu in October 2014. Arguing the law grants adoption rights to homosexual couples, the party claimed it essentially establishes same-sex marriage. Instead, the party proposes laws that would help to raise the birth rate and strengthen the societal attitudes towards having children, including the need to strengthen the traditional family model.EKRE: kooseluseadus on vastuolus eesti rahva huvidega EKRE also claims that pushing through the law while opinion polls showed that the majority of Estonian people opposed it was undemocratic.

C&C; 25 designed by Cuthbertson C&C; 35 Mk 1 designed by Cuthbertson After graduating Cuthbertson worked for a time for the Canadian operation of SKF, the Swedish ball-bearing manufacturer. In 1951, he formed a registered partnership with Peter Davidson, a young man also active in sailing at the RCYC, for the purpose of producing products in an experimental new material called fibreglass. This work led to Cuthbertson's first production design, the Water Rat, a small dinghy conceived in 1953. About 80 in all were built, mostly with the bare hands of the two partners.

"Same-sex partnerships are allowed in Switzerland." Image from a 2016 government publication for refugees. Registered partnerships have been recognized since 1 January 2007, when the Registered Partnership Act came into force. Prior to this, the cantons of Geneva, Fribourg, Neuchâtel and Zürich already allowed registered partnerships. In 2007, one in ten of all marriages in Zürich were registered partnerships between members of the same sex. Kein Run aufs Standesamt, Swissinfo, accessed 1 November 2009 In November 2016, voters in the canton of Zürich rejected a proposal to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage, with 81% against.

The image of "hot love and cold people" emerged. Sexual liberalism was seen as part of modernisation process that by breaking down traditional borders would lead to the emancipation of natural forces and desires. Sweden has also become very liberal towards homosexuality, as is reflected in the popular acceptance of films such as Show Me Love, which is about two young lesbians in the small Swedish town of Åmål. Since 1 May 2009, Sweden repealed its "registered partnership" laws and fully replaced them with gender-neutral marriage, Sweden also offers domestic partnerships for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples.

Before the legislative elections of 4 October 2009, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK) announced its support for same-sex registered partnerships in a reply to a questionnaire sent by gay rights group OLKE. PASOK ended up winning the election. On 17 September 2010, Minister of Justice Haris Kastanidis announced that a special committee had been formed to prepare a registered partnership law that would include both same-sex and different-sex couples. The committee was constituted on 29 July 2010 and, according to its members, its work was to make proposals regarding the modernization of family law.

Participants at the 2017 Copenhagen Pride parade Rainbow flags in Aarhus, 2012 Danish LGBT advocacy groups include LGBT Danmark, founded in 1948 under the name Kredsen af 1948 (Circle of 1948) and later changing its name to Forbundet af 1948 (Federation of 1948). The group officially registered as an association under the name Landsforeningen for homofile (National Association for Homosexuals) in 1969. The organisation's founder was Axel Axgil. Axel and his partner Eigil Axgil were the first same-sex couple to enter into a registered partnership in Denmark, and therefore the first in the world, in 1989.

Many advocates, such as this November 2008 protester at a demonstration in New York City against California Proposition 8, reject the notion of civil unions, describing them as inferior to the legal recognition of same-sex marriage. Civil union, civil partnership, domestic partnership, registered partnership, unregistered partnership, and unregistered cohabitation statuses offer varying legal benefits of marriage. As of , countries that have an alternative form of legal recognition other than marriage on a national level are: Andorra, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Slovenia and Switzerland. Poland and Slovakia offer more limited rights.

A domestic partnership is an interpersonal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee right of survivorship, hospital visitation, and others. The term is not used consistently, which results in some inter- jurisdictional confusion. Some jurisdictions, such as Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. states of California, Maine, Nevada, Oregon and for couples over 62 within Washington use the term "domestic partnership" to mean what other jurisdictions call civil union, civil partnership, or registered partnership.

In February 2010, New South Wales Attorney General Hatzistergos announced that the state government will introduce legislation for a statewide relationships register modelled on ones already in place in the ACT, Victoria and Tasmania. Entering into a "registered relationship" provides conclusive proof of the existence of the relationship, thereby gaining all of the rights afforded to de facto couples under state and federal law without having to prove any further factual evidence of the relationship. In this way, a registered relationship is similar to a registered partnership or civil union in other parts of the world. The law came into effect on 1 July 2010.

Since Denmark approved same-sex civil unions (registered partnership) in 1989, the question of church blessing ceremonies for such unions emerged. After an enquiry from the Danish National Association of Gays and Lesbians in 1993, bishops set up a commission to reach a stance on the matter. An early stance on registered partnerships was reached in 1997. Bishops maintained that the ceremony of marriage was God's framework for the relation between a man and a woman, but this view of marriage was not affected by the fact that some people chose to live in a responsible community with a person of the same sex, approved by society, i.e.

The legislation also granted immigration rights to a same-sex foreign partner of a Finnish citizen. The registered partnership law was repealed on 1 March 2017 after same-sex marriage legislation came into effect. According to a survey conducted by the newspaper Kotimaa on March 11, 2010, the 2007 parliamentary election resulted in a split on the issue of same-sex marriage, with 54% of MPs opposing a gender-neutral marriage law and 46% supporting. However, four of the eight parties in the Parliament — the Social Democrats, the Greens, the Left Alliance, and the Swedish People's Party — had declared their support for same-sex marriage in their general position papers.

Since being elected in 2007, the then-Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, had been encouraging all states to create relationship registers identical to Tasmania's model in order to create nationwide uniformity and consistent rights, while at the same time not supporting anything that appears too similar to marriage. The Australian Commonwealth Government also recognises a Tasmanian registered partnership as a "de facto relationship" under federal law. De facto couples, whether same- sex or opposite-sex, have been entitled to nearly all of the federal rights of marriage since 1 July 2009. In September 2010, the Tasmanian Parliament passed legislation to recognise out-of-state same-sex unions as significant relationships.

In early 2005, the Croatian Parliament rejected a registered partnership bill proposed by Šime Lučin (SDP) and Independent Ivo Banac. MP Lucija Čikeš, a member of the then ruling HDZ, called for the proposal to be dropped because "all universe is heterosexual, from an atom and the smallest particle, from a fly to an elephant". Another HDZ MP objected on grounds that "85% of the population considers itself Catholic and the Church is against heterosexual and homosexual equality". Medical and psychological professionals did not support these statements, arguing that all members of Parliament have a duty to vote according to the Constitution of Croatia, which bans discrimination.

Article 27 of the Registered Partnership Act treats the matter of the partner's child/children. The law states that the partner of the biological/adoptive parent must provide financial support for their partner's child and also possesses the full legal authority to represent the child in every matter as being the parent's partner. It also states that in the case of the dissolution of the partnership, the ex-partner has the right to keep close ties with their ex-partner's child. Article 27: «Partner's children» This article makes Swiss registered partnerships one of the most liberal partnerships, giving the couple a real role in being parents.

In 2007, the Government, comprising the Alliance of Free Democrats (SZDSZ) and the Hungarian Socialist Party (MSZP), submitted a bill to Parliament that would have introduced registered partnerships for both same-sex and opposite- sex couples. Parliament adopted the bill on 17 December 2007. This act would have provided all the rights of married spouses to registered partners except for the right to adopt and the right to take a common surname. The registered partnership act would have entered into force on 1 January 2009, but on 15 December 2008 the Hungarian Constitutional Court declared it unconstitutional on the grounds that it duplicated the institution of marriage for opposite-sex couples.

In most jurisdictions the nature of a couple's relationship is established when a child is born to that relationship. In law, there may be differences in the consequences depending on whether the relationship is opposite-sex or same- sex, and whether it is in the form of a marriage, a civil union or registered partnership, or cohabitation without marriage. When one parent has sole custody of a child, there is usually court ordered contact/visitation with the non-custodial parent. The purpose is to ensure that the child can continue to maintain a relationship with both parents after divorce or separation, as well as in situations where the parents have never lived together.

In 2014, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the European Science Fiction Society for her translation work and was granted an honorary doctorate in philosophy by the University of Eastern Finland's Joensuu campus. Juva and Day took a sabbatical in 2016 while Day researched a book at Yale University on church history. While they were in the United States, they participated in the 2017 Women's March and then married, sending the paperwork home to Finland to convert their registered partnership to a marriage. The couple continue to divide their time between Finland and England, while Juva devotes her free time to advocating for acceptance and dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the LGBT community.

Civil unions were introduced in Denmark by law on 7 June 1989, the world's first such law, and came into effect on 1 October 1989. On 7 June 2012, the law was replaced by a new same-sex marriage law, which came into effect on 15 June 2012.The Copenhagen Post, 7 June 2012: Gay marriage legalised Retrieved 2012-09-19 Registered partnership was by civil ceremony only, but the Church of Denmark allowed priests to perform blessings of same-sex couples, as it stated that the church blesses people, not institutions. The new law makes same-sex marriages in churches possible, but allows vicars to decline marriages of same-sex couples in their church.

Registered partnership for same-sex couples has been legal since 23 July 2006, with limited inheritance, social security and next-of-kin rights. In July 2009 the Constitutional Court held that Article 22 of the Registration of Same Sex Partnerships Act (RSSPA) violated the right to non-discrimination under Article 14 of the Constitution on the ground of sexual orientation, and required that the legislature remedy the established inconsistency within six months. On 3 March 2015, the Assembly passed the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in a 51–28 vote. On 10 March 2015, the National Council rejected a motion to require the Assembly to vote on the bill again, in a 14–23 vote.

Map showing how the Liechtenstein electorate voted in the 2011 referendum A group called Vox Populi (Voice of the People) announced its intention to force a referendum on the matter. VOX POPULI Partnerschaftsgesetz: Doch noch Widerstand According to the Constitution, the organization had until 21 April (30 days) Liebe ist ein Menschenrecht to collect at least 1,000 signatures.Constitution of the Principality of Liechtenstein As the necessary signatures were gathered (1,208 valid signatures), a referendum was held between 17 and 19 June 2011. Partnerschaftsgesetz: Volk entscheidet Mitte Juni Liechtensteiner stimmen im Juni über Homo- Ehe ab The registered partnership law was approved by 68.8 percent of those who voted and thus went into effect on 1 September 2011.

Unregistered cohabitation is defined in the Civil Code as "when two persons are living together outside of wedlock in an emotional and financial community in the same household, provided that neither of them is engaged in wedlock or partnership with another person, registered or otherwise, and that they are not related in direct line, and they are not siblings." Inheritance is possible only with testament, widow-pension is available for couples cohabiting for more than 10 years. On 17 December 2007, the Parliament adopted a registered partnership bill submitted by the Hungarian Socialist Party-Alliance of Free Democrats Government. The bill was found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court because it duplicated the institution of marriage for opposite-sex couples.

Election posters in Jyväskylä According to political analysts Salla Laaksonen and Kimmo Elo, the main dividing line between the presidential candidates in this election is not the traditional division over ideology, but instead voters are placing more stress on a candidate's views on the EU and social issues. Professor Leif Åberg has described the campaign as "relatively civil," but there have been a few accusations of negative campaigning. Some of Pekka Haavisto's supporters felt offended over a television advert by the Paavo Väyrynen campaign which says that "a house needs a master and a mistress." Haavisto's supporters interpreted this as a taunt on Haavisto's relationship status (Haavisto lives in a registered partnership with another man).

In February 2016, several politicians (mostly from the Estonian Free Party) introduced the Same-Sex Partnership Bill, aimed at repealing the Registered Partnership Act and creating a separate law for same-sex couples. Andres Herkel, who spoke on behalf of the Free Party, justified the need for the bill and criticised the partnership act, arguing it had brought legal confusion to include same-sex couples and opposite-sex couples in the same law: "The including of the regulation concerning different-sex couples and same-sex couples in one Act is the basis of very many conceptual confusion." The bill was opposed by the Conservative People's Party, the Reform Party and the Social Democrats, and ultimately failed 14-55 in Parliament.

Portugal has recognized unregistered cohabitation since 5 May 2001,International: Global Summary of Registered Partnership, Domestic Partnership, and Marriage Laws, stand as of November 2003, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and same-sex marriage since 5 June 2010.Portugal's president ratifies gay marriage law, Business Week, Barry Hatton Same-sex marriage was legalized under the second term of the Sócrates Socialist Government, and passed the Portuguese Parliament with the support of other leftist parties. Same-sex married couples are granted all of the rights of different-sex married couples. The Penal Code was amended in 2007 to equalize the age of consent and to criminalize domestic violence in same-sex relationships, thus equalizing treatment with opposite-sex couples.

Since 1999, a person in a same-sex registered partnership has been able to adopt his or her partner's biological children (known as stepchild adoption). Adoption by LGBT parents was previously only permitted in certain restricted situations, notably when a previous connection existed between the adopting parent and the child, such as being a family member or a foster child. On 2 June 2006, the Danish Parliament voted to repeal a law that banned lesbian couples from accessing artificial insemination. In addition, when a lesbian couple has a child via in vitro fertilization, the non-biological parent has been written onto the birth certificate as the other natural parent since 2013. Since 1 July 2010, same-sex couples may apply jointly for adoption.

As understood in the United States, a civil union is a legally recognized status almost identical to marriage, whereas domestic partnership often connotes a lesser status that may or may not be recognized by local law. However, the terminology is still evolving; the exact level of rights and responsibilities of domestic partnership depends on the particular law of a given jurisdiction. Since 1999, the West Coast states of California, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada have all passed domestic partnership statutes; in contrast, most legislatures in the New England region and New Jersey have preferred the term civil unions. In many other countries, the equivalent legal status is referred to as registered partnership, and domestic partnership refers to cohabitation, rather than a legal status.

About 60 religious associations have been established by or for immigrants in Zürich in the past 20 years. In order to offer appropriate cult rooms, in 2008 the Evangelical Reformed Church of the Canton of Zürich respectively of the city of Zürich established the centre in Wipkingen. The theologian and pastor Dinah Hess is as of December 2014 its director, she tries also to find rooms for further parishes, and she is responsible for the rental of rooms and the communal life in the center. Pastor Hess also obliges the communication to the migration churches, and to aware that the Reformed Church sometimes may have a different understanding of mission between the registered partnership, and therefore not to deny, but to carefully address debates on such topics.

Since the 1970s, a second gay and lesbian civil rights movement has formed, which has led to many forms of discrimination against LGBT people being abolished (for example, equalising the age of consent, Registered Partnership, elimination of different tax laws for homosexual and heterosexual members of the army). Nathalie Barney Center logo by Christiane Parth In the early 1970s, the first news about the Stonewall riots by American LGBT people against police brutality filtered through to Europe. This particularly inspired and mobilised young, left-wing LGBT people. In 1970, Rosa von Praunheim showed his film «Nicht der Homosexuelle ist pervers, sondern die Situation, in der er lebt» (It's not the Homosexual who is perverse, but the situation in which he lives) at the universities of Zürich, Basel and Bern.

In 2004, the registered partnership law (originally passed in 2001) was amended, effective on 1 January 2005, to give registered same-sex couples limited adoption rights (stepchild adoption only) and reform previously cumbersome dissolution procedures with regard to division of property and alimony. In 2013, the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled that if one partner in a same-sex relationship has adopted a child, the other partner has the right to become the adoptive mother or father of that child as well; this is known as "successive adoption". The same-sex marriage law, passed in June 2017, gave same-sex couples full adoption rights. On 10 October 2017, a court in Berlin's Kreuzberg district approved the first application for joint adoption of a child by a same-sex couple.

The SPÖ-ÖVP Coalition Government continued following the September 2013 elections. Although SPÖ had campaigned on an LGBT rights platform during the campaign, the coalition agreement did not include any measures to expand LGBT rights, due to opposition from the conservative ÖVP. In late September 2016, the three ÖVP-led ministries agreed to remove two prominent differences between registered partnerships and marriages: it would be possible to register a partnership at the Standesamt (municipal civil registration) rather than the Bezirkshauptmannschaften (district authorities), and people in a registered partnership would have a regular Familienname (family name) rather than a Nachname (last name), which was specifically created for partnerships. Following approval by the Council of Ministers on 22 November 2016 and by Parliament on 15 December, the law took effect on 1 April 2017.

In 21 countries worldwide and in several US Counties and/or Cities, a same-sex couple can be legally partnered in a civil union, domestic partnership or registered partnership. Couples in these unions or partnerships are afforded rights and obligations similar to, but not identical to, those of a married couple. On the issue of transsexualism, the European Court of Human Rights in Goodwin v UK and I v UK (July 2002) concluded that there is no justification for barring a transsexual from enjoying the right to marry. In Bellinger v Bellinger [2003] UKHL 21, (2003) Times, 11 April the English courts held that the non-recognition of change of gender for the purposes of marriage in s 11(c) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 was incompatible with Convention rights.

In April 2009, the Hungarian Parliament passed a Registration Partnership Act 2009 with a vote of 199–159, which provides a registered partnership for same-sex couples with all the benefits and entitlements of marriage (except for marriage itself, adoption, IVF access, taking a partner's surname, parentage and surrogacy). The law was passed in December 2007 by a vote of 110–78, but the Constitutional Court of Hungary was "deeply concerned" that the law was a duplication of opposite-sex marriage benefits and entitlements, so same-sex couples only registration was chosen. Some politicians of the Alliance of Free Democrats and Hungarian Socialist Party parties have argued for the introduction of marriage for same-sex couples. The Registration Partnership Act 2009 came into effect from July 1, 2009.

LGBT rights in Finnish worklife drew heavy attention in the media in late September 2008, when Finnish journalist Johanna Korhonen, living in a registered partnership with a woman, was dismissed by Alma Media from the position of editor-in-chief for Lapin Kansa, a newspaper owned by Alma Media, before she even started working. According to Alma Media CEO Kai Telanne, the cause of dismissal was lack of trust, caused by Korhonen not mentioning her spouse's candidacy in the 2008 municipal elections -- i.e., Telanne said it was a policy within Alma Media for editor-in-chief applicants to disclose all their political connections. However, Korhonen claimed that the real cause was that the company found out about her sexual orientation after the recruitment process, where she simply said she had a spouse and two children, not mentioning her spouse's sex.

The referendum has raised much controversy and increase of violence against LGBT people in Croatian for this and following years. Same-sex registered partnership was introduced the following year, granting same-sex couples equal rights to marriage, except the LGBT adoption. The sixth presidential election since independence took place in 2014 and 2015, with a first round held on 28 December 2014 between four candidates: the incumbent Ivo Josipović in office since 2010 and supported by the ruling coalition, former foreign minister and NATO official Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović nominated by the opposition HDZ, Živi zid activist Ivan Sinčić and right-wing populist Milan Kujundžić. Josipović and Grabar-Kitarović won the most votes, but fell short of the required 50% + 1 vote needed to win outright and proceeded to the second round held on 11 January 2015.

On 11 May 2012, Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanović announced further expansion of rights for same-sex couples. At that point, it was not known which of the well-known terms such as civil union or registered partnership would be used, but it was certain that Croatian family law would not be modified for this purpose, but rather a new law dealing with the issue would be introduced, thus implying that the term marriage would not be used. On the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia in 2012, LGBT rights groups met with Minister of Administration Arsen Bauk, who announced further changes in existing laws to expand LGBT rights, as well as a new law regulating same-sex partnerships. The name of the law at that point was still unknown, but one of the proposed drafts was the Life Partnership Act ().

The fourth Pride in 2005 was organized by a feminist group Epikriza, and it promoted a registered partnership law proposed by two Sabor members, one of Social Democratic Party and one liberal independent member. It was the first Pride not organized by its Pride Committee. At the beginning of June, most prominent LGBTIQ group Iskorak ("Coming out", also can be translated as "Step forward"), which has been that year's logistic support, announced that its activists would not organize Pride before the summer break, also stating that the Pride march was irritating citizens of Zagreb by blocking the public transport for a few minutes, and that Pride was at that time useless to the LGBTIQ community in Croatia. They proposed that a concert with "big names" outside of city center would be more appropriate, but it was never organised.

These rights and benefits are not automatically given – they must be applied for to the social department of the local government in each case. An amendment was made to the Civil Code: "Partners – if not stipulated otherwise by law – are two people living in an emotional and economic community in the same household without being married." Widow-pension is possible, partners cannot be heirs by law (without the need for a will), but can be designated as testamentary heirs. The Hungarian Parliament on 21 April 2009 passed legislation by a vote of 199–159, called the Registered Partnership Act 2009 which allows same-sex couples to register their relationships so they can access the same rights, benefits and entitlements as opposite-sex couples (except for the right to marriage, adoption, IVF, surrogacy, taking a surname or become the legal guardian of their partner's child).

Since 1999 French law also provides for a civil solidarity pact (in French: pacte civil de solidarité, or PACS), a contractual form of civil union between two adults bringing additional rights and responsibilities, but less so than marriage. Hungary has domestic partnerships, whereas most other nations in Europe recognize some form of civil unions, also called a registered partnership, or civil partnership for same-sex partners, which afford rights similar to marriage to LGBT couples. Croatia also had domestic partnerships until June 2014 when Croatian parliament passed a law allowing civil partnerships for same-sex couples giving them all rights except adoption rights. In Hungary, since 1995 domestic partnership in the form of unregistered cohabitation offers a limited set of rights compared to marriage in a Civil Code (more in the field of health and pension; but no inheritance), although a growing number of Hungarian couples, both opposite-sex couples and same-sex couples choose this kind of partnership instead of marriage.

Despite the crises of the preceding electoral period, in the 2002 federal election, the Greens increased their total to 55 seats (in a smaller parliament) and 8.6%. This was partly due to the perception that the internal debate over the war in Afghanistan had been more honest and open than in other parties, and one of the MPs who had voted against the Afghanistan deployment, Hans-Christian Ströbele, was directly elected to the Bundestag as a district representative for the Friedrichshain- Kreuzberg – Prenzlauer Berg East constituency in Berlin, becoming the first Green to ever gain a first-past-the-post seat in Germany. The Greens benefited from increased inroads among traditionally left-wing demographics which had benefited from Green-initiated legislation in the 1998–2002 term, such as environmentalists (Renewable Energies Act) and LGBT groups (Registered Partnership Law). Perhaps most important for determining the success of both the Greens and the SPD was the increasing threat of war in Iraq, which was highly unpopular with the German public, and helped gather votes for the parties which had taken a stand against participation in this war.

A poll by Szonda Ipsos in September 2009 found that the majority of Hungarians, 58%, supported the newly introduced registered partnership law for same-sex couples. A May 2013 Ipsos poll found that 30% of respondents were in favour of same-sex marriage and another 21% supported other forms of recognition for same-sex couples. The 2015 Eurobarometer found that 39% of Hungarians thought that same-sex marriage should be allowed throughout Europe, 53% were against. A 2016 opinion poll conducted by Budapest Pride and Integrity Lab found that 36% of Hungarians were in favour of same-sex marriage, while 56% were against and 7% were undecided (21% strongly supported, 15% somewhat supported, 15% somewhat opposed and 41% strongly opposed). The poll also found that 60% of the population agreed that lesbian, gay and bisexual people should have the same rights as straight people, and 46% supported adoption rights for same-sex couples with 47% opposed. Support for same-sex marriage was higher among women (40%) than men (33%), higher among university graduates (43%), and higher among people who personally knew a gay person (46%).

A poll conducted in June 2009 indicated that 32% of Estonians believed that same-sex couples should have the same legal rights as opposite-sex couples. Support was 40% among young people, compared to 6% among older people. A poll conducted in September 2012 found that 34% of Estonians supported same-sex marriage and 46% supported registered partnerships (with 60% and 45% opposed, respectively). The poll found an ethnic divide, with 51% of ethnic Estonians supporting registered partnerships, compared to 21% of ethnic Russians. A similar poll conducted in 2014 during the parliamentary debate on registered partnerships found that support had dropped significantly, with 29% of respondents supporting same-sex marriage and 40% supporting registered partnerships; opposition had increased to 64% and 54%, respectively. The 2015 Eurobarometer survey showed that 44% of Estonians supported gay, lesbian and bisexual people having the same equal rights as heterosexuals, while 45% were opposed. 40% of Estonians agreed that there was nothing wrong with homosexual relationships and 49% disagreed, while 31% of Estonians supported same-sex marriage and 58% were against. A poll conducted between March and April 2017 found that, while support for same-sex registered partnership legislation was almost unchanged in three years, support for same-sex marriage had increased to 39% with 52% against (compared to 60% against in 2012 and 64% against in 2014).