Danish Parliament gave Greenland’s same-sex marriage and adoption bill a second reading on Thursday with the final reading scheduled for January 19th.
Danish Parliamentary approval is merely a formality as Greenland’s own Parliament unanimously said yes to the proposal in May of 2015. The requirement of having Denmark review the law is the result of that country’s own 2012 gay marriage legislation specifying that neither of its constituent territories, Greenland and Faroe Islands, shall be affected by Danish gender-neutral marriage laws. As a result, Denmark must now pass an amendment allowing Greenland’s law to come into force.
Originally, the island hoped for October weddings, but elections back in Denmark caused the bill to be postponed. Danish MPs have expressed their delight at the law and apologized to the territory for not being able to ratify the bill during 2015 due to the Danish Parliamentary elections last June.
Once Denmark gives the standard three readings in Parliament and grants Royal Assent to the Greenlandic bill, Greenland’s new marriage law will go into effect on April 1st with the equal adoption law following on July 1st.
For more information on the LGBT rights situation in Greenland, please visit: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_Greenland
The Perchy Bird 