(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
[25. April] On Monday, a hearing was held in the Storting that says something decisive about what kind of society Norway wants and can stay in that 21. century.
The Norwegian Church, which has recently been secured future special treatment by the state through a cross-political church settlement, attacked the Bill of Rights, which is formally called "The Act on amendments to the Marriage Act, Children's Act, the Adoption Act, the Biotechnology Act, etc.". Also called common marriage law for heterosexual and gay couples.
Namely, the church will "stop the gray zones the privately practicing homo priest extends the church's liturgy". Thus, a kind of "security clause" to ensure that gay marriage is valid only after liturgy from the Church Meeting.
The immediate background for the requirements lies in the new joint marriage law. The Minister for Children and Equality, Anniken Huitfeldt (Labor Party), presented it on 18 March, while the Storting's Family and Culture Committee will make a recommendation on it by June. There is no special tension related to the conclusion itself: A broad majority – in which Fr.p., Kr.F. and parts of the Center Party – will ensure that gays and heterosexuals have equal marriage rights. And it was time.
Not a pioneer country
It is only 26 years since homosexuality was banned in Norway, the decriminalization in 1972 came 163 years after Belgium and 90 years after Japan. And it is only 15 years since the Partnership Act was created. With a new and common marriage law, the step to full equality has been completely removed. And we have a more inclusive society, where a minority of rights is accorded important and natural rights.
Many of the supporters and opponents consider marriage law as something radical. But Norway is far from any pioneer country in that way, rather it becomes number six in the world with such a law. It is perhaps not surprising that the liberal Netherlands was the first country to equate homosexual and heterosexual marriage in 2001. But in 2005, Catholic Spain followed suit, as did Belgium and Canada.
And then in 2006, South Africa did the same. The decision in this formerly oppressive apartheid country came after the support of Nelson Mandela's ANC and Bishop Desmond Tutu. There is something symbolically important in the fact that the majority group that was suppressed under the white minority dictatorship until 1994, when a sexual minority gave the same rights as the majority majority.
In other words, Norway also has a lot to learn from abroad in 2008 – as with the decriminalization in 1972 – when it comes to increased rights for homosexuals. In South Africa, a joint marriage law was passed in parliament with 230 votes against only 41, such a clear majority and message that the Norwegian Storting will hardly be able to muster. And in both Taiwan and Romania, there have been just as radical and egalitarian proposals and debates as in Norway.
When some – such as the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church – argue against the marriage law with the claim that "large groups of immigrants should be integrated", one is thus out on thin ice.
It is not that "immigrants" are any less homoliberal than the Norwegian grassroots, especially if the Free Church members are included. And it is not the case that even Arab countries have some historical-cultural backing for Norwegian society in homosexual acceptance. For example, in the late 1800s, Europe's greatest writers sought free life in Morocco, where Oscar Wilde and Andre Gidé could meet and live out their homosexuality in openness. Even in the Taliban's hometown of Kandahar, homosexuality has been well-known and a natural part of the cultural tradition.
Religious opposites
Secretary-General Shoaib Sultan of the Islamic Council could therefore have chosen better arguments when, as the Free Churches this week, he warned that the marriage law is making "the distance greater and the integration work more difficult". Rather, for many gay immigrants, the distance will be smaller and Norway's integration into the world easier.
Surprisingly, however, the religious objections are not. It is not only the three monotheistic religions, but also the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, who have theological challenges with the existence of homosexuality. But then it can help to refer to nature. Homosexuality is found in over 1500 species – as in penguins and male sheep – and is thus both common and natural in the animal kingdom. Yes, scientists have believed that the existence of, for example, the dwarf chimpanzee, man's closest relative in the animal kingdom, is completely dependent on homosexuality. In a larger perspective, the forthcoming Marriage Act will not only be a right, but also part of a natural development.
