GAY MARRIAGE IN NORWAY: Monika Persson

My first thought when I heard that the Herald was looking for Norwegians to do a pro and con on the subject of gay marriages was, "Good luck finding a Norwegian who is against that!"

This pretty much summarized the attitudes to gay marriages among Norwegians: Being against same-sex marriage is practically nonexistent. The issue is not something we need to explain. On Aug. 1, 1993, a new law called Registered Domestic Partnership was established in Norway, giving gay couples the same rights as married heterosexual couples.

I still can remember the commotion and discussions that followed. Yet, now it seems so far away that just thinking the issue was controversial leaves me with a bitter taste of wrongfulness and ignorance. Of course, someone always will be opposed to the issue, but the subject itself is old, worn out and accepted many years ago by most Norwegians. ...

While opponents to gay marriage keep arguing that gay marriage will lead to the destruction of the family and also to a negative social impact in general, research shows something very different. Research in Scandinavia done by Darren Spedale found no negative aspects but many positive ones. ...

Denmark, for one, has continued to see a statistical increase in the number of couples marrying per capita in the 15 years since gay marriage became legal there. ...

Scandinavia's 15-year history with gay marriage should be an indicator that it will work. In the Scandinavian countries, same-sex marriage has become fully accepted by the public, the government is satisfied with the results and most important, thousands of gay and lesbian couples now are able to live out their lives together as a couple with the security that the law will help nurture and grow their loving, supportive, permanent relationships. Therefore, there is no reason to expect different results in other countries that adopt gay marriage laws of their own.

To read more about the research in Scandinavia, go to www.freedomtomarry.org

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posted by Eve at 4:52 PM VOTE

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