| Associated Press Thu 4-JUN-1987 22:13 Sweden-Homosexuals
Parliament Approves Gay-rights Bill
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) - Parliament approved a bill Thursday giving gay
couples in Sweden the same rights as common-law marriages, but enacted
another measure clamping down on saunas and video clubs frequented by
homosexuals.
The 349-member Parliament passed the gay-rights bill by acclamation,
following a six-year study of homosexuals and their lifestyles by a
government-appointed commission. Under the law, homosexuals will be
permitted to sign housing leases as couples, regulate the division of
property in the breakup of a live-in relationship and grant partners
the right to inherit property in the absence of a will.
Stig-Ake Petersson, president of the 6,000-member Union for Gay and
Lesbian Rights, was quoted by the national news agency TT as saying
that the bill "does not at all fulfill the demands for full civil
rights for homosexuals." But he said it was "a good platform for our
continued struggle."
The government proposed the bill closing sauna and video clubs to fight
the spread of AIDS following news reports that guests were involved in
anonymous homosexual contacts. Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome was
first identified in male homosexuals, hemophiliacs and intravenous drug
abusers. AIDS, for which no cure has been found, is most often
transmitted through sexual contact.
Sweden, a country of 8.4 million people, has so far registered 113
cases of AIDS, which renders the body's immune system unable to resist
disease. It has killed 63 people in Sweden.
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| While we have this topic around, here is more news. Has this one (below)
passed? How comfortable are Danish people (and Swedish, .1) with their new
laws? How well are they working (though it may be too early to have much data
to speak)?
\bob
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"Time" magazine, January 18, 1988, p.43
NEW STATUS FOR GAY "PARTNERS" (Denmark)
Denmark is about to become the first country in the world to grant homosexuals
the legal status of married couples. A bill introduced in parliament last
week provides that gay couples registering as "partners" will automatically
gain the same rights to inheritance and tax deductions, the same access to
social services and the same obligation to pay alimony as a husband and wife.
The measure, supported by a majority of members in the 179-seat Folketing,
is expected to become lax July 1. Hoping to mute criticism, the bill's
sponsors included a provision precluding gays from adopting children.
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