Austria: Gay Couple Says Austria Discriminates

A gay couple accused Austria before Europe's top rights court yesterday of discriminating against homosexuals in adoption and other matters despite a new law allowing same-sex unions. Horst Michael Schalk and Johann Franz Kopf, 48 and 50 respectively, claim they were denied the right to wed after Vienna authorities declined to marry them in 2002.

Austria's constitutional court also ruled it justified to limit the definition of marriage to the traditional union between woman and man.

The couple, who filed their petition before the European Court of Human Rights in 2004, claim "that the notion of marriage had evolved over time thus having to be understood nowadays as a permanent union encompassing all aspects of life", the Strasbourg-based court said in a statement.

Full Story from the Jamaica Observer
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Austria: Official Recognition of Gay/Lesbian Unions Begins January 1st

Landmark legislation on same-sex registered partnerships in Catholic Austria is an example that politicians in Eastern Europe's Catholic countries should now follow, gay rights groups in the region say. The legislation, which was passed by lawmakers last week, gives legal recognition to same sex couples' partnerships as well as many of the rights enjoyed by heterosexual couples such as access to pension on the death of a partner and alimony if a pair separates. Austrian gay rights groups hailed the legislation as the work of more than two decades of lobbying, while politicians who backed the law, due to come into effect Jan. 1 next year, described it as a "step forward" for the country. Campaigners in Catholic Eastern European states say the decision shows that politicians' use of religious arguments against same sex marriages is unfounded. Full Story from IPS News: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=49724

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Austria: Parliament Passes Gay Civil Unions Bill

Austria's parliament passed legislation Thursday allowing homosexual couples to enter into civil unions, a move hailed by proponents as a historic win for gay rights in the country. The bill, slated to become law Jan. 1., will give same-sex couples a series of rights enjoyed by their heterosexual counterparts, including access to a pension if one partner dies and alimony in the event of a split. It bans the adoption of children or artificial insemination. "We are living in the 21st century and I'm very glad this step is being taken today," Justice Minister Claudia Bandion-Ortner said during parliamentary debate leading up to the vote. Christian Hoegl, co-president of the Homosexual Initiative Vienna, Austria's oldest group of gays and lesbians, agreed. Full Story from the AP: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hDt8Yq8oetIOgJKLxdZGsNAvWNDwD9CGHIAO1

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Green Party Tells Austrian Government Time Running Out on Gay Marriage Pledge

The Greens today (Mon) warned the government was in danger of breaking its promise of a new law on gay marriages by 1 January 2010. Greens’ justice spokesman Albert Steinhauser said "time was running out" for the new law. He added civil partnerships would also give heterosexual couples a less demanding alternative to marriage in a permanent relationship. Civil partnerships, he said, would give couples the right to financial support only during their duration and would be easier to dissolve than marriage. He said homosexual couples should not be given preferential treatment but have the same rights and obligations as heterosexual couples. Full Story from the Austrian Times: http://austriantimes.at/news/General_News/2009-10-12/17143/Greens_warning_over_homosexual_marriage_

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