Same-sex marriage in Greenland has been legal since 1 April 2016.

Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

legislation passed the

Inatsisartut The Inatsisartut ( kl, Inatsisartut; '' da, Landstinget, lit=''the land's-thing'' of Greenland''), also known as the Parliament of Greenland in English, is the unicameral parliament (legislative branch) of Greenland, an autonomous territory* * ...

unanimously on 26 May 2015. Approval by the

Folketing The Folketing ( da, Folketinget, ; ), also known as the Parliament of Denmark or the Danish Parliament in English, is the unicameral national legislature (parliament) of the Kingdom of Denmark—Denmark proper together with the Faroe Islands ...

followed on 19 January 2016, and the law received

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in other ...

on 3 February.

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

, an

autonomous In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...

territory within the

Kingdom of Denmark The Danish Realm ( da, Danmarks Rige; fo, Danmarkar Ríki; kl, Danmarkip Naalagaaffik), officially the Kingdom of Denmark (; ; ), is a sovereign state located in Northern Europe and Northern North America. It consists of Denmark, metropolitan ...

, had previously recognised registered partnerships for same-sex couples from 1 July 1996 until 1 April 2016.

Registered partnerships

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

's registered partnership law had been in operation since 1 October 1989. A bill to expand its application to Greenland was approved by the

on 14 May 1993 by a vote of 15–0 with 12 abstentions, and by the

on 28 March 1996 by a vote of 104–1. The bill was given

on 26 April 1996, and took effect on 1 July 1996. The law gave registered partners nearly identical rights to married couples, with these notable exceptions: * joint adoption of children * laws making explicit reference to the sexes of a married couple did not apply to registered partnerships * regulations by international treaties did not apply unless all signatories agreed The first same-sex couple registered in 2002.Gay Greenland--Past and Present
/ref> Registered partnerships are called ''nalunaarsukkamik inooqatigiinneq'' () in Greenlandic and ''registreret partnerskab'' () in

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

. The law was repealed on 1 April 2016. The ability to enter into a registered partnership was closed off on that date. Registered partners may retain their status or convert their union into a recognized marriage.

Same-sex marriage

A resolution, expressing Greenland's wish to opt in the current version of Denmark's marriage law, had its

first reading A reading of a bill is a stage of debate on the bill held by a general body of a legislature. In the Westminster system, developed in the United Kingdom, there are generally three readings of a bill as it passes through the stages of becoming, ...

in the Inatsisartut on 25 March 2015, and was approved unanimously on second and final reading on 26 May 2015. Approval by the Folketing was required before the law could go into effect, however. A bill was submitted to the Folketing on 28 January 2015 and had its first reading on 26 May 2015. It was planned to come into effect on 1 October 2015; however, it lapsed due to the 2015

parliamentary elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. A nearly identical bill with only minor formal changes was submitted on 29 October and had its first reading on 5 November. The second reading happened on 14 January 2016, and the bill was approved in its final reading on 19 January. The bill was given royal assent by Queen

Margrethe II Margrethe II (; Margrethe Alexandrine Þórhildur Ingrid, born 16 April 1940) is Queen of Denmark. Having reigned as Denmark's monarch for over 50 years, she is Europe's longest-serving current head of state and the world's only incumbent femal ...

on 3 February, and took effect on 1 April 2016. The first same-sex marriage in Greenland was performed on 1 April at the Hans Egede Church in

Nuuk Nuuk (; da, Nuuk, formerly ) is the capital and largest city of Greenland, a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark. Nuuk is the seat of government and the country's largest cultural and economic centre. The major cities from other co ...

between Laila Mølgaard and Henriette Simonsen. Article 1 of the ''Marriage Act'' now reads as follows: * in

: * in Greenlandic: :(''The law applies to marriages between two persons of different sex and between two persons of the same sex.'') :*Two MPs (Jess Svane (Siumut) and Iddimanngiiu Bianco (IA)) are not shown on the vote tally in the reference link above. Since there are 31 MPs in the Greenlandic Parliament, both names of these MPs are added in this second column just to complete the tally count. :ªThese three parties formed the

Naalakkersuisut Naalakkersuisut ( en, Cabinet of Greenland, da, Grønlands Regering), is the chief executive body and the government of Greenland since the island became self-governing in 1979. An "autonomous territory" ( da, land) of the Kingdom of Denmark, tak ...

during the entire legislative process of this bill.

Marriages in the Church of Greenland

The Church of Greenland campaigned in favor of same-sex marriage legislation and worked closely with the government to ensure that same-sex couples would be able to have religious wedding ceremonies in the church. The

Bishop of Greenland The Bishop of Greenland is a diocesan bishop of the Church of Denmark, and the leader of the Church of Greenland, which is an episcopal church in the Lutheran tradition. History Historically (before the Reformation) the Bishop of Greenland was kno ...

Sofie Petersen Sofie Petersen (born 1955) is a Greenlandic Lutheran bishop. She was born on 23 November 1955 in Maniitsoq, Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark. She studied theology and graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1986. On 28 May 1995, at the age o ...

, welcomed the legalization of same-sex marriage.

References

External links

Lov om ændring af myndighedsloven for Grønland, lov om ikrafttræden for Grønland af lov om ægteskabets retsvirkninger, retsplejelov for Grønland og kriminallov for Grønland
''Retsinformation.dk'' (in Danish) {{Status of same-sex unions

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

2016 in LGBT history

Registered partnerships

Same-sex marriage

Marriages in the Church of Greenland

See also

References

External links