Homosexuality in Sweden

Sweden

When it comes to questions about homosexuality in Sweden , the country is one of the most liberal countries in Europe and in the world. Civil marriage has been accessible to homosexual couples in Sweden since May 1, 2009 ; there are no legal differences.

legality

Homosexuality was legalized in 1944. In 1987 a law against sex in saunas was passed to prevent the spread of HIV , but this was repealed in 2004. Homosexuals are not excluded from military service .

Anti-discrimination laws

The Swedish Constitution prohibits any form of sexual discrimination. Discrimination against gays and lesbians has been listed as a criminal offense in the Criminal Code since 1987.

The Swedish Ombudsman against Sexual Discrimination (Ombudsmannen mot diskriminering på grund av sexuell läggning) , or HomO for short , was set up by the government in 1999 to receive complaints from individual citizens.

The term HomO is used for the responsible office and for its chairman, currently Hans Ytterberg . The HomO authority investigates the grievances complained of by individuals and records class actions. One example is the successful lawsuit against a Stockholm restaurant owner who harassed a lesbian couple. The HomO authority also acts on its own initiative and also acts as an advisory body for Parliament. The Swedish national association for the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (Riksförbundet för sexuellt likaberättigande) was founded in 1950.

A worldwide sensational case of the application of the law was the first instance sentencing of Pentecostal pastor Åke Green to a month's imprisonment after he committed homosexuality and the like in a homophobic sermon in July 2003. a. had called "cancer on the body of society". In the second instance ( Göta hovrätt ), Green was acquitted in 2005 because the court took the view that the statements made in the sermon were covered by the right to freedom of expression and that that right was to be assessed as more important than the anti-discrimination law that was passed confirmed by the Swedish Supreme Court.

Recognition of same-sex partnerships

It has been possible for same-sex couples to have their partnership recognized since 1995. Since 2002, these couples have been able to adopt Swedish and foreign children. The law is the result of an 18-month study that showed that homosexual couples, like heterosexuals, are capable of caring for and raising children.

In 2005, artificial insemination was allowed for lesbian couples.

Same-sex marriage

The previous social democratic government set up a commission to investigate the enforceability of same-sex marriage . In 2007 the Reichstag ("Riksdag") was supposed to vote on a change in the marriage regulations.

The parties in the Reichstag and their opinions on same-sex marriage are listed below by size in parliament.

Political party	Same-sex marriage
Social democrats	Yes
Moderate rally party	Yes (party decision, October 2007)
Center Party	Yes
Liberal People's Party	Yes
Christian Democrats	No
Left Party	Yes
Environment party - The Greens	Yes

The Swedish government is made up of moderates Coalition Party , the Center Party , the People's Party and the Christian Democrats . The Swedish Prime Minister , Fredrik Reinfeldt ( rallying party ), said that his party had not yet made a decision on this point. However, he already voted for the right to adopt homosexuals against the will of the party in 2002. If the government cannot agree on a law, the Reichstag can pass one to open marriage to homosexuals. This happened back in 1994 when it came to the registered partnership .

In October 2008, the Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt announced that same-sex marriage would be allowed in May 2009. On January 21, 2009 the Swedish government presented the draft law, which should come into force by May 1, 2009. On April 1, 2009, parliament approved the law with 261 votes to 22. It came into force on May 1, 2009.

Consent by the Church of Sweden

On October 22nd, 2009, the Council of the Church of Sweden decided that the concept of marriage should also be applied to same-sex marriages in the church context and that homosexual couples can be married by the Church of Sweden from November 1st, 2009. With the decision, every parish within the Church of Sweden is obliged to enter into marriages between two people regardless of their gender, unless there is a reason for preventing marriage . This obligation does not apply to the individual pastor, however; but only the corresponding parish.

As early as 2007, the council had spoken out in favor of opening up marriage, but at that time with the restriction that the term “ marriage ” (“Äktenskap”) was reserved exclusively for connections between men and women. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden, to which 80 percent of the population belong, was a state church until the end of 1999.

Social situation

Gay Pride in Sweden

A Eurobarometer survey in all member states of the European Union in December 2006 showed that Sweden is the most open-minded country in the European Union after the Netherlands with regard to the rights of gays and lesbians. 71 percent of Swedes are in favor of same-sex marriage, 51 percent think that this should also have the option of adoption. The LGBT civil rights organization Riksförbundet for homosexuellas, bisexualas and transpersoners rättigheter has existed since 1950 .

See also

• Laws on homosexuality
• Equality (homosexuals)

literature

• Jens Rydström and Kati Mustola: Criminally Queer: Homosexuality and Criminal Law in Scandinavia 1842-1999 . Aksant Academic Publishers, Amsterdam 2007, ISBN 9789052602455 .
• Jens Rydström: Odd Couples: A History of Gay Marriage in Scandinavia . Amsterdam University Press, Amsterdam 2011, ISBN 9789052603810 .

Web links

Commons : Homosexuality in Sweden  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Website of the Ombudsman HomO (English)
• Elmar Kraushaar : Yellow Villa, Dark Cellar - Elmar Kraushaar on Sweden - Model for German gay politics? , Der Spiegel, August 1, 1996

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Angus Reid: Eight EU Countries Back Same-Sex Marriage ( Memento of the original from February 27, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Regeringsformen, Paragraph 1, Paragraph 2
3. ↑ Reinhard Wolff: Sex offenders on the pulpit in Die taz , July 1, 2004
4. ↑ Gay.ch: ACTION FOR PASTOR ( Memento from May 18, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
5. ↑ The Local: Moderates back gay marriage , October 27, 2007 (English)
6. ↑ Gay Industries: Sweden: Marriage will be opened in 2009 ( Memento of the original from February 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
7. ↑ Focus: Homosexual unions should be equated with marriage , January 21, 2009
8. ↑ Queer.de: Sweden opens marriage , April 1, 2009
9. ↑ Hamburger Abendblatt: Gay marriage now also allowed in Sweden , April 29, 2009
10. ↑ Minutes of resolution  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. of October 22, 2009 (PDF document)  
11. ↑ Eurobarometer survey (PDF; 9.4 MB)