NORWAY REJECTS SSM: From the PlanetOut Network

Lawmakers in Norway rejected a measure on Thursday that would have granted marriage rights to same-sex couples, including the right to adopt children.

According to Agence France-Press (AFP), a majority of the members of Parliament voted against an amendment to make existing marriage law "gender-neutral." The opposition included many Christian Democrats, the party of Lutheran pastor and Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik.

The Scandinavian country currently allows same-sex couples to enter into civil unions, which carry most of the same privileges as marriage.

The prohibition on adoption, however, does not necessarily keep same-sex couples from having children. Some couples travel to nearby Denmark, AFP reported, to take advantage of artificial insemination by anonymous donors.

Proponents of the measure argued that the adoption rights would most benefit existing children of same-sex couples.

"We should ensure that these children have the same rights as children who grow up with a father and a mother," Labour MP Trond Giske said, as reported by the country's NTB news agency.

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posted by Eve at 8:44 PM VOTE

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