7 openly gay lears have served as heads of state. Latvian print Edgars Rkēvičs is the latt

Contents:

• LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE
• A NATNWI STUDY OF NORWEGIAN BELIEFS ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND LBIAN AND GAY PARENTHOOD
• BEG GAY NORWAY BEFORE WAS LEGAL, PART 1
• CHURCH OF NORWAY APPROV GAY MARRIAGE AFTER 20 YEARS OF INTERNAL DEBATE
• NORWAY GAY TRAVEL
• NORWAY PASS LAW APPROVG GAY MARRIAGE

LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE

”Xavier Bettel Prime Mister of Luxembourg (2013-prent)Luxembourg Prime Mister Xavier Bettel at a news nference Belgra, Serbia, on July Vojovic / APBettel was first elected prime mister of Luxembourg 2013, and 2018 he beme the first openly gay prime mister the world to be re-elected for a send marriage beme legal Luxembourg 2015, and the same year Bettel beme the first servg European Unn lear to marry a same-sex partner, the BBC recently cricized a Hungarian law that bans school tnal materials and TV shows for people unr 18 that are emed to promote LGBTQ ntent, Rters reported. Netherlands2001EuropeFirst untry to legalize same-sex marriage after Parliament passed the law December Zealand 2013Asia-PacificFirst untry the Asia-Pacific regn to allow gays and lbians to 2009EuropeThe law replaced a 1993 statute permtg civil unns. Slovenia 2022EuropeFirst untry formerly munist Eastern Europe to legalize same-sex Ai 2006Sub-Saharan AiOnly Ain untry where same-sex marriage is legal; several untri on the ntent have passed laws that ban homosexualy recent 2005EuropeBeme the third untry globally to legalize same-sex marriage after a vote s closely divid 2009EuropeGay and lbian upl Swen prevly had been allowed to register for civil unns sce 1995.

1%) st ballots favor of legalizg same-sex marriage a 2021 2019Asia-PacificA urt lg prompted a change the law that ma Taiwan the first jurisdictn Asia to perm gays and lbians to Kgdom 2014EuropeLegal same-sex marriage took effect Northern Ireland 2020, six years after the change England and Wal. Icelandic Prime Mister Johanna Sigurdardottir ma history Febary 2009 when she beme the untry's first female prime mister and the world's first openly gay head of marriage beme legal Swen on May 1, 2009, followg the enactment of a marriage law passed by the Swedish Parliament early April.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

This article reports fdgs om a natnwi study vtigatg Norwegian beliefs about equal marriage and parentg rights for lbian, gay and heterosexual upl and the welfare of children wh lbian and gay Norway, there has been a seri of chang the legal stat of homosexuals sce the removal of male homosexualy om the Crimal Co 1972. Twenty years later, when the Law on Registered Partnership was troduced, lbian and gay upl were at large granted the same legal rights as heterosexual upl except for church weddgs, jot adoptn and state-sponsored assisted fertilizatn (Halvorsen 1998). Today, Norway is nsired one of the most liberal untri the world wh regard to securg equal legal rights for heterosexuals and homosexuals (Anrssen and Hellund 2009; Badgett 2004) and was the first among the Nordic untri to troduce a genr-ntral Marriage Act.

This mak Norway an tertg se to study more public bate the perd leadg up to Norway’s new genr-ntral Marriage Law vered a spectm of topics related to marriage rights for same-sex upl, but maly centred on lbian and gay parenthood (Folgerø, 2008) and whether was the child’s bt tert to grant lbian and gay upl the right to bee parents. They argued that the genr-ntral Marriage Law would facilate eedom om discrimatn for children raised lbian and gay relatnships whilst general preventg prejudiced and moralizg notns ncerng lbian and gay parentg and children growg up wh lbian and gay parents.

Conversely, var groups argued that there had been sufficient rearch to the nsequenc for children followg provisns for equal parentg rights for lbian, gay and heterosexual upl the new genr-ntral Marriage Law and that the had not received aquate nsiratn.

A NATNWI STUDY OF NORWEGIAN BELIEFS ABOUT SAME-SEX MARRIAGE AND LBIAN AND GAY PARENTHOOD

A siar divisn of opns and arguments between supporters and opponents have also been intified the public bate other untri where qutns such as legal regnn of marriage and parentg rights for lbian and gay upl have been on the polil agenda, such as the USA, France and Swen (Eskridge 2001; Government Commissn 2006; Pew Rearch Center 2009; Price et al. In a lerature review on discrimatn of lbian, gay, bisexual and HIV-posive persons Norway, Danielsen (2005) monstrated that Norwegian legislatn at that time uld be terpreted a way that society did not want lbian and gay upl to re for children. The proposal was rejected maly bee genr-ntral marriage legislatn tomatilly would imply equal parentg rights for lbian, gay and heterosexual upl (Government Commissn 2006) 1998, 25% of the Norwegian populatn supported adoptn rights for lbian and gay upl, whilst a clear majory was agast (MMI 1998).

In 2006, 44% of Danish rponnts, 51% of Swedish rponnts and 32% of the overall EU populatn generally supported adoptn rights for lbian and gay upl (European Commissn 2006), whilst the support for lbian and gay adoptn rights among the US populatn was 46% (People Prs Organizatn 2009).

In general, average public opn Europe seems to reflect a more tolerant attu towards same-sex marriag than to legal provisns to secure equal adoptn rights for lbian and gay upl, whilst the USA, more people support adoptn rights for lbian and gay upl than marriage rights. Beliefs About the Welfare of Children wh Lbian and Gay ParentsAcrdg to Herek (2006), ncerns about the welfare of children wh lbian and gay parents, and their needs and terts wh rpect to lbian and gay parenthood, have always been an tegral part of the bate on equal marriage rights for lbian and gay upl. (2008), vtigatg populatn attus towards lbian and gay parents and projected out for their children (n = 1, 217), found that lbian and gay parents were nsistently rated ls favourably than heterosexual parents across variabl such as nurturg abily and suabily as role mols.

BEG GAY NORWAY BEFORE WAS LEGAL, PART 1

The study further dited that “participants believed that children raised by gay male and lbian parents would be more likely to experience nfn over their genr inty and sexual orientatn, be homosexual, experience straed peer relatnship, stigma and teasg” (p.

Rponnts who reported that they were opposed to grantg lbian and gay upl parentg rights on at least five out of six statements were classified as “Negative to equal parentg rights”, whereas rponnts who supported equal parentg rights on at least five out of six statements were classified as “Posive to equal parentg rights”. In 2009, 86% of Norwegian habants between the ag of 9 and 79 years had accs to the Inter at home (Statistics Norway 2010a, b) Analysis PlanFrequency analysis was ed to display attus towards marriage and parentg rights and beliefs about the welfare of children wh gay and lbian parents.

CHURCH OF NORWAY APPROV GAY MARRIAGE AFTER 20 YEARS OF INTERNAL DEBATE

A substantial proportn reported that they neher agreed nor disagreed, or that they were uncerta whether they thought gay and lbian upl should be granted the same legal rights to bee parents as heterosexual women (42%) than men (25%) reported that they thought gay men should be allowed to e legal surrogacy arrangements abroad and that egg donatn (women, 62%; men, 50%) and surrogacy regulated forms (women, 44%; men, 30%) should be allowed Norway. Demographics and Beliefs About Equal Parentg RightsTable 4 shows the percentage of participants who exprsed negative, posive and neher posive nor negative attus towards grantg gay and lbian upl the same legal rights to bee parents as heterosexual upl, stratified by selected background variabl. Male participants, olr participants, those who were parents, those who reported that they would vote for centre and right-wg parti, and those who reported that they have a high relig fah were most negative towards grantg gay and lbian upl equal parentg rights.

Siar analys were performed to intify the background variabl of the participants who had negative attus towards equal marriage rights (those who rpond negatively to at least two out of the three statements on beliefs about equal marriage rights sle) and also for participants who had ncerns about the welfare of children wh gay and lbian parents (those who exprsed ncerns on at least five out of eight statements on beliefs about the welfare of children wh lbian and gay parents sle). In this mol, genr, age, populatn nsy and tn did not expla any of the variance, whereas beg parents, polil affiliatn and relig fah also ma a substantial ntributn to explag beliefs about equal parentg rights for lbian, gay and heterosexual upl.

NORWAY GAY TRAVEL

Our data further show that beg olr, beg a parent, havg a high relig fah and votg for centre or right-wg parti also predict negative beliefs about equal marriage and parentg rights for lbian, gay and heterosexual upl as well as ncern for the welfare of children wh lbian and gay parents. The fact that beliefs about same-sex marriage rights, lbian and gay parenthood and beliefs about the welfare of children wh lbian and gay parents at large are predicted by the same mographic variabl, cludg relign and polil affiliatn, is supported by earlier fdgs (e. High rat of habatn and fay polici that reflect a flexible and pragmatic adaptatn to the changg habatn patterns (cludg systems for fancial support; Noack 2001) make plsible that Sndavian populatns are more likely than others to support same-sex marriage rights and be novators givg marriage-like rights to gays and lbians.

Grønngsæter and Nuland (2008) pots to this fact, claimg that such wordg n be nsired ntrast to a gradual troductn of adoptn and fosterg rights for lbian and gay upl, there has not been the same cremental growth support for assisted fertilizatn for lbian upl.

NORWAY PASS LAW APPROVG GAY MARRIAGE

Introductn of legal chang also needs a certa level of populatn support, as well as majory support , higher support of marriage rights than parentg rights for lbian and gay upl may relate to the fact that marriage and childbearg have bee ls directly nnected over time, Sndavian untri pecially (Halvorsen 1998; Kiernan 2001).

Such trends are most likely reflected our fdgs where large parts of the Norwegian populatn seemgly feel much more at ease wh marriage rights as pared wh parentg rights for lbian and gay, and followg the reflectns above, opposn to lbian and gay parentg has until recently been visible and clearly reflected , for example, both Council of Europe’s remendatns to member stat (Swedish Official Report 2001) and Norwegian law (Danielsen 2005).

This practice is still illegal Norway, but at prent que wily discsed, also bee g egg donatn and surrogacy abroad have gradually bee more mon among both sgle parents and heterosexual, gay and lbian upl (European Society of Human Reproductn and Embryology 2009). The Norwegian populatn may therefore have bee ls affected by tradnal velopmental theori and their predictns of negative out for children who are raised nontradnal fai (Lambert 2005) or by more iologil viewpots such as lbian and gay parenthood not beg normal or natural (Clarke 2001; Folgerø 2008).

Siarly, Herek (2006) says that the current bate the USA on the and related qutns, people appear to have replaced fe opns wh holdg parallel and nflictg valu, on one hand adherg to tradnal beliefs but on the other hand also valug fairns, rights and, the fact that ncerns regardg the welfare of children wh lbian and gay parents turn out to be the most signifint predictor of negative attus towards grantg equal parentg rights to lbian, gay and heterosexual upl also v some further reflectns, beyond the discsns above. Folgerø (2008) argu that lbian and gay parenthood challeng rnerston of Wtern civilizatn such as normative disurs on geic parenthood (the right to know one’s geic orig), children as a rult of romantic love, the need for and the right to have two parents, and the necsy for plementary genr rol parents to secure a healthy psychosocial velopment. In relatn to qutns about equal parentg rights for lbian, gay and heterosexual upl, a children’s rights perspective onted by the opponents of the new genr-ntral Marriage Act may therefore also be unrstood as a phemism for more ntroversial arguments based on relign or tradn, or even taboo arguments such as lbian and gay parents beg of ls value or of a different Norway, Why Now?

A Web-based solutn was particularly suable for our purpose bee we were asssg beliefs about sensive them and we specifilly wanted to avoid social sirabily when prent fdgs are drawn om data a larger survey that asssed beliefs or attus towards a number of topics related to lbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual persons. The survey topics, the available rponse tegori and the sequence of qutns all may have affected the directn of participants’ rpons to the ems on attus towards same-sex marriage, lbian and gay parentg and the welfare of children wh lbian and gay parents. Beg male, parent, and of olr age, havg a high relig fah and votg for centre/right-wg parti all predict negative beliefs about both equal marriage and parentg rights for lbian, gay and heterosexual upl as well as ncern for the welfare of children wh lbian and gay parents.