Same-sex marriage in Greenland

Same-sex marriage in Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, has been legal since 1 April 2016. The territory had previously recognised registered partnerships from 1 July 1996 until 1 April 2016.

Marriage
LGBT portal

Registered partnerships
Laws regarding same-sex partnerships in Europe¹
  Marriage
  Civil union
  Limited domestic recognition (cohabitation)
  Limited foreign recognition (residency rights)
  Unrecognized
  Constitution limits marriage to opposite-sex couples
¹ May include recent laws or court decisions that have not yet entered into effect.
Further information: Same-sex marriage in Denmark

Denmark's registered partnership law had been in operation since 1 October 1989.[1][2] A bill to expand its application to Greenland was approved by the Greenlandic Parliament on 14 May 1993 (15 votes to 0 with 12 abstentions) and by the Danish Parliament on 28 March 1996 (104 votes to 1) and was given royal assent on 26 April 1996.[3][4] It took effect on 1 July 1996.[5][6] The law gave registered partners nearly identical rights to married couples, with these notable exceptions:

  • joint adoption of children
  • laws making explicit reference to the sexes of a married couple did not apply to registered partnerships
  • regulations by international treaties did not apply unless all signatories agree.

In 2002, the first same-sex couple registered under the law.[7] Registered partnerships are called nalunaarsukkamik inooqatigiinneq in Greenlandic and registreret partnerskab in Danish.[8]

The law was repealed on 1 April 2016.

Same-sex marriage

A resolution,[9] expressing Greenland's wish to opt in the current version of Denmark's Marriage Act (Danish: Ægteskabsloven; Greenlandic: Aappariinneq pillugu inatsit), had its first reading in the Parliament of Greenland on 25 March 2015,[10] and was approved unanimously on second and final reading on 26 May 2015.[11][12][13]

Approval by the Danish Parliament was required before the law could go into effect, however. A bill to this effect was submitted to the Parliament of Denmark on 28 January 2015 and had its first reading on 26 May 2015.[14] It was planned to come into effect on 1 October 2015. However, it lapsed due to the 2015 parliamentary elections.[15] A nearly identical bill with only minor formal changes was submitted to Parliament on 29 October 2015 and had its first reading on 5 November 2015.[16][17] The second reading happened on 14 January 2016 and the bill was approved in its final reading on 19 January 2016.[17][18] The bill was given royal assent on 3 February, taking effect on 1 April 2016,[17] which was the day the first same-sex couple in Greenland were married. The couple were married at the Hans Egede Church.[19][20][21]

26 May 2015 vote in the Parliament of Greenland (2nd reading)[22]
Political affiliationVoted forAbsent (Did not vote)*
 G  Siumut^
     Inuit Ataqatigiit
 G  Demokraatit^ -
     Partii Naleraq -
 G  Atassut^ -
Total274*
*Two MPs (Jess Svane (Siumut) and Iddimanngiiu Bianco (IA)) are not shown on the vote tally in the reference link above. Since there are 31 MPs in the Greenlandic Parliament, both names of these MPs are added in this second column just to complete the tally count.
^These three parties formed the Government Coalition during the entire legislative process of this bill (28 January 2015 (introduction in the Danish Parliament) - 3 February 2016 (royal assent)).

See also

References
  1. "The Registered Partnership Act". Queer Resources Directory. Archived from the original on 30 September 2014.
  2. Rule, Sheila (2 October 1989). "Rights for Gay Couples in Denmark". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  3. "Anordning om ikrafttræden for Grønland af dele af lov om ændring af lov om ægteskabs indgåelse og opløsning, lov om ægteskabets retsvirkninger og retsplejeloven og om ophævelse af lov om registreret partnerskab" (PDF) (in Danish). Social-, Børne- og Integrationsministeriet. 11 November 2013.
  4. "1995-96 - L 162 (oversigt): Forslag til lov om ændring af kriminalloven og arveloven for Grønland. (Ændringer som følge af indførelse af registreret partnerskab)" (in Danish). Folketing. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  5. "Lov om ændring af kriminalloven og arveloven for Grønland (Ændringer som følge af indførelse af registreret partnerskab)". Government of Denmark. Archived from the original on 4 April 2016. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  6. Merin, Yuval (2002). "Equality for Same-Sex Couples: The Legal Recognition of Gay Partnerships in Europe and the United States". University of Chicago Press. Retrieved 4 April 2016.
  7. Gay Greenland--Past and Present
  8. (in Greenlandic) Nalunaarsukkamik inooqatigiinneq il.il. pillugit inatsisip allanngortinneqarneranik inatsisip Kalaallit Nunaannut atortuulersinneqarneranik peqqussut
  9. "Forslag til: Inatsisartutbeslutning om at Grønlands Selvstyre tiltræder Anordning om ikrafttræden for Grønland af dele af lov om ændring af lov om ægteskabs indgåelse og opløsning, lov om ægteskabets retsvirkninger og retsplejeloven og om ophævelse af lov om registreret partnerskab" (PDF) (in Danish). Parliament of Greenland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  10. "Ullut ataatsimiiffiusut qulingiluaat, pingasunngorneq 25. marts 2015" (in Danish). Parliament of Greenland. Archived from the original on 12 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  11. "Ullut ataatsimiiffiusut 28-iat, marlunngorneq 26. maj 2015" (in Danish). Parliament of Greenland. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  12. W, Christian (28 May 2015). "Greenland approves gay marriage". The Copenhagen Post. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  13. McCormick, Joseph Patrick (27 May 2015). "Parliament in Greenland unanimously approves same-sex marriage". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  14. "Lovforslag nr. L 122 Folketinget 2014-15" (PDF) (in Danish). Folketing. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  15. "L 122 Forslag til lov om ændring af myndighedsloven for Grønland, lov om ikrafttræden for Grønland af lov om ægteskabets retsvirkninger, retsplejelov for Grønland og kriminallov for Grønland" (in Danish). Folketing. Archived from the original on 28 January 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  16. "Lovforslag nr. L 35 Folketinget 2015-16" (PDF) (in Danish). Folketing. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  17. "L 35 Forslag til lov om ændring af myndighedsloven for Grønland, lov om ikrafttræden for Grønland af lov om ægteskabets retsvirkninger, retsplejelov for Grønland og kriminallov for Grønland" (in Danish). Folketing. Archived from the original on 3 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  18. Nørrelund Sørensen, Helle (19 January 2016). "Ja til homovielser og nej til at slå børn". Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation (in Danish). Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  19. Dam, Camilla (1 April 2016). "Første homoseksuelle par viet i kirken". Greenlandic Broadcasting Corporation (in Danish). Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  20. Williams, Joe (1 April 2016). "Same sex couples can now officially marry in Greenland". PinkNews. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  21. Morgan, Joe (1 April 2016). "Same-sex couples can now get married in Greenland". Gay Star News. Archived from the original on 2 April 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  22. "Point 100 - Inatsisartutbeslutning om at Grønlands Selvstyre tiltræder Anordning om ikrafttræden for Grønland af dele af lov om ændring af lov om ægteskabs indgåelse og opløsning, lov om ægteskabets retsvirkninger og retsplejeloven og om ophævelse af lov om registreret partnerskab. (Ophævelse af anordning om lov om registreret partnerskab som følge af ægteskab mellem to personer af samme køn)" (in Danish). 26 May 2015. Archived from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
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