This page is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

After the right party took power in 2007, the same-sex partnership is no longer under consideration and it is banned. I would depict Italy in RED—Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.26.52.195 ( talk • contribs) 13:53, 23 December 2008

This needs updating, now that homosexuals can marry in Norway;). -- 85.164.221.15 ( talk) 16:15, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Was gonna say the same thing, same-sex marriage was just legalised. I found this source in English: [1] Lampman ^{Talk to me!} 18:50, 11 June 2008 (UTC)

Gay marriage is not constitutionally banned in Serbia, it's just not recognized, so Serbia should be orange, not red ! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.94.122.60 ( talk) 20:57, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

From 1/1/2009, Hungary will provide a "registered partnership" - So that means Hungary should be blue on the map, NOT green on the map. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.166.64.209 ( talk) 09:35, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

• Hungary reverts to green because the Hungarian Supreme Court struck the civil unions (supposed to enter in force on jan 1st 2009) as unconstitutional. See article. Finedelledanze ( talk) 17:51, 23 December 2008 (UTC)

Yes, Hungary should be blue, just as Norway and California became purple WHEN they legalised gay marriage but BEFORE the law enters in force. On the other hand, Portugal should be downgraded to green. There is NO registry, and in the navigation template Portugal is listed as "unregistered cohabitation".

More ambiguously, I think that Italy and Romania (and maybe Greece) should be orange. Their governments and parliaments can't or are unwilling to pass any LGBT couples legislation. I don't share the view that "under debate" means "debate in society", this is just not objective. Probably even in Iran there are some people talking about gay rights, but this doesnt translate in marriages or unions coming any time soon.

I'll try to fix all this as soon as I learn how to edit images. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Finedelledanze ( talk • contribs) 23:00, 15 June 2008 (UTC)

Has Denmark and Sweden legalized same-sex marriages yet? Both Denmark and Sweden has provided "relationship registories" (similar to civil unions) since 1989 for Denmark and Sweden since 1993. Same-sex marriage might be legal soon, maybe by 2010 for both Denmark and Sweden? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sevenlanes ( talk • contribs) 12:47, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Has Denmark introduced a bill legalizing same-sex marriages yet?

Has Sweden indroduced a bill legalizing same-sex marriage yet? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sevenlanes ( talk • contribs) 12:49, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Do not get too excited yet. The GNM [gender neutral marriage] law does not become affective until 1/1/2009. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 138.130.85.141 ( talk) 09:09, 11 July 2008 (UTC)

This map shows Kosovo as having the same marriage law as Serbia, where it indicates that Same-sex marriage is banned. Is this law the same in Kosovo as well? 24.218.56.104 ( talk) 18:08, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

In fact Kosovo has different laws from Serbia and Homosexuality it's not banned in Kosovo

Will Ireland provide Civil Partnerships soon?

Will Austria provide relationship registories (based on the Swiss model) soon? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.217.98.170 ( talk) 06:25, 17 August 2008 (UTC)

Recognition of same-sex unions in Estonia is currently an active political issue in Estonia. H2ppyme ( talk) 17:39, 27 August 2008 (UTC)

Estonia should be yellow on the map, (just like Ireland and Greece) because soon the Partnership Bill 2008 might pass. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 58.170.14.237 ( talk) 06:57, 2 September 2008 (UTC)

I can't tell if they're marked on the map, but they should be orange, since they are not recognised. Although since we have a new government, which doesn't include the Christian Centre Party, we may become yellow soon. :) Mulder1982 ( talk) 23:32, 28 September 2008 (UTC)

France recognises same gender marriages since 1 October 2008. (but can not be performed). —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sevenlanes ( talk • contribs) 03:52, 23 October 2008 (UTC)

The issue is currently under political consideration. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.121.52.214 ( talk) 15:30, 4 November 2008 (UTC)

Has Iceland, Denmark and Sweden made SSMs legal yet? Because Denmark (since 1989), Sweden (since 1995) and Iceland (since 1996) has provided legal registered partnerships.

When will be a final vote in the Swedish Parliament? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.24.3.177 ( talk) 17:49, 15 February 2009 (UTC)

Probably any day now. It's been proposed to be implemented May 1, 2009. They had a press conference today, but I don't know the details. -- 90.231.34.215 ( talk) 19:43, 17 February 2009 (UTC)

I think Poland should be red on this map. Article 18 of the Polish Constitution defined marriage as union between a man and a woman. I know, text this article maybe is complex or not clear, but polish experts think this article prohibited same-sex marriage. Article 1 of the Family Code also defined marriage as union between a man and a women.

I agree with you. Poland should be red as in the Polish Constitution there is a strict definition of marriage.

Why Greece is yellow? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.24.52.254 ( talk) 18:23, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Can it be confirmed or verified that Austria just recently allowed "registered partnerships" (on a German model) to become effective from 1.1.2010? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.207.230 ( talk) 08:25, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

What is the current legal status in Ireland, have they legally provided "civil partnerships" (on a UK model) yet? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.207.230 ( talk) 08:27, 16 March 2009 (UTC)

Please make Poland red. See Talk:Same-sex marriage#Poland for confirmation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wikitiki666 ( talk • contribs) 22:50, 24 March 2009 (UTC)

Sweden will allow gay marriage from 1 May 2009. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.217.252.207 ( talk) 03:43, 3 April 2009 (UTC)

Has both Iceland and Denmark legally provided SSM (same sex marriage) yet? These countries have had "registered partnerships" for years now (since 1989 in Denmark and 1996 in Iceland). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.207.230 ( talk) 15:00, 4 April 2009 (UTC)

Iceland is looking into making their marriage laws gender neutral, sometime in the (likely) near future, see Same-sex marriage in Iceland, but there has been no word in Denmark about making their marriage law gender neutral. However, I wound imagine that since Norway and Sweden have both provided SSM since 2009 only, I'm going to bet that Denmark and Finland will likely take after them and provide full SSM sometime within the next two years. But this is just a speculation. Wikitiki666 ( talk) 01:11, 5 April 2009 (UTC)

Denmark has had a few debates about SSM and the country is largely in favour. The problem is that the current government is made up conservative parties, none of which are particularly favourable towards same-sex marriage. My bet is that, if a left-wing coalition wins at the next elections (in 2010), same-sex marriage should follow soon. In Iceland, we should see faster progress. Their elections are this month, and the "red-green" left-wing coalition is expected to win, with the Prime Minister herself being lesbian. Finland, on the other hand, is another case. Despite its links to Scandinavia, the country is actually far less supportive of same-sex marriage than Sweden, Norway and the like. Registered partnership was only legalised in 2002 (in comparison to the early-to-mid 1990s in Scandinavia). Ronline ✉ 07:06, 8 April 2009 (UTC)

What is the latest progress in Europe???? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.207.230 ( talk) 11:11, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

The most recent change to same-sex union laws has been in Sweden, which passed a law permitting gay marriage on April 1, which will come into force on May 1. As to areas of potential progress in the coming year, we could see the following changes to the map:

• Portugal legalising same-sex marriage (if the Socialists win in the September 2009 elections; they are currently leading in the polls, but not by a huge margin).
• Iceland legalising same-sex marriage. A very progressive red-green coalition, headed by the openly-lesbian Johanna Sigurdardottir, is poised to win the April 2009 elections. At the same time, I don't know whether gay marriage is specifically part of their electoral policy. The national gay rights group, Samtokin 78, doesn't seem to be particularly campaigning for SSM.
• Austria, Hungary and Ireland legalising registered partnerships. Of these, Ireland seems the most likely to do so, since the Heads of the Bill have already been introduced.
• Of course, predicting this stuff is like looking into a crystal ball; anything is bound to happen at any time. Ronline ✉ 12:31, 15 April 2009 (UTC)

Hungary will have a "modified" registered partnership from 1 July 2009 (originally passed in 2007). The vote was 199 as a majority - However; NO marriages, recognition of children, adoption, surrogacy, ART (assisted reproductive technology) and surnames are included in the registered partnership law.

Sources from wikipedia, gay news watch, UK gay news and Hungary news in English. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.207.230 ( talk) 11:36, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

I am confused is Austria in the unregistered cohabitation or registered partnership status section? Sometimes vandals keep changing the status when there is nothing to source or back up their claims (very very anoying mind you). I have heard that Austria will provide a registered partnership bill to the Lawmakers of Austria is this correct and can this be verified? What is the actual latest status on Austria?

Also what is the latest legal status of the Civil Partnership Bill 2009 (draft) in the Republic of Ireland? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.207.230 ( talk) 11:43, 22 April 2009 (UTC)

According to Recognition of same-sex unions in Austria, Austria only offers unregistered cohabitation -- which is how it is colored on this map. I did not see any news on Austria on a quick Google News search, but maybe I wasn't using the right keywords. As far as Ireland goes, according to Irish Times, 20 April, the bill will go before the legislature soon (but the locals quoted are not happy that it is civil partnerships instead of marriage). You can find more on Google News I'm sure, but 20 April is pretty recent.

Just so you know, the file talk pages are not a reference desk -- and most of us know about the same as you do. :-) Template talk:Same-sex unions may be your best bet for current developments, but repeated inquiries may get less than friendly responses if they think you are using it as a forum instead of staying on-topic to the template or article at hand. Happy editing, Wikignome0529 ( talk) 15:50, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

What is the latest progress of the Relationship Registration Bill 2009 in Estonia? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.207.230 ( talk) 10:38, 24 April 2009 (UTC)

In Kosovo Homosexuality is not banned, it's legal and Kosovar people pretend that Kosovo recognizes SSM... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.24.250.130 ( talk) 13:44, 30 April 2009 (UTC)

Why Poland is on red? Poland didn't ban any same sex marriages. The status is more likely unknown. -- DumnyPolak ( talk) 18:00, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

According to LGBT rights in Poland#Recognition of same sex couples, the constitution bans same-sex marriage. Wikignome0529 ( talk) 19:03, 1 May 2009 (UTC)

Did you read that article? The Polish constitiution art 18 defines a marriage as an union of a man and a woman. "Marriage, being a union of a man and a woman, as well as the family, motherhood and parenthood, shall be placed under the protection and care of the Republic of Poland." This is not a "ban". Also some Polish institiutions de facto recognise unregisterd same-sex reletionships. In the Polish criminal code procedure you have a right to not to give a "witness summary" if you are in a close relatonship with the defendant, and Polish courts do not force gay couples to testify. Also It is unknown if Polish authorithies will respect foreign "same sex marriages" I have not heard of a single case regarding that problem and how it was solved. 89.74.156.217 ( talk) 12:47, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

This is typically how same-sex marriage "bans" are worded, at least in the US (see List of defense of marriage amendments to U.S. state constitutions by type#Amendments that ban same-sex marriage for US examples).

These are often referred to in the media as "bans" -- however persons in favor of the amendments do also call it "defining" marriage as between a man and woman. The legend could be changed from "bans" to a more literal wording such as "defines marriage as between a man and woman" (if consensus was there for the change), but this would also require changes to all of the non-English legends (and to legends on all of the non-English Wikipedias that use this map). Wikignome0529 ( talk) 16:28, 4 May 2009 (UTC)

To say it is a "ban" is POV or a misundertanding of legal definitions. If a law of a specific country defines a taxi as a "yellow vehicle" this does not mean that black, white, purple and taxis and taxis in other colors are "banned". You can say it is a "ban" but it will be an opinion not a fact. And opinions should not be included in Wikipedia maps and passed as facts. Mieciu K ( talk) 13:25, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

Article 18 barred legalize same-sex marriage. It is clear. Poland may recognize marriage only between a man and a woman. In the other words legalize same-sex marriage is not possible without change this article. Colour on the map is good. Ron 1987 ( talk) 17:10, 6 May 2009 (UTC)

No it is not. A constitiutional legal definition of marriage that is incompatible with gay marriage is not a ban. Also this article can be interpreted as reserving the term "marriage" for a union of a man and a woman and making it impossible to call a gay marriage "marriage" and not making impossible a union of two people of th same sex. If article 18 "bans" gay marriage than aticle 32 [2] allows it "1. All persons shall be equal before the law. All persons shall have the right to equal treatment by public authorities. 2. No one shall be discriminated against in political, social or economic life for any reason whatsoever." this article claearly states that gay people should be treated un the same way as other people, so according to this article gay marriage is allowed. Mieciu K ( talk) 23:29, 7 May 2009 (UTC)

I agree with the other users, there is nothing "POV" about the titling. Anyhow, to answer your questions: Civil Unions are not the same as marriage. Since the Polish constitution defines marriage as between a man and a woman, it bans marriage between two members of the same-sex. While there is no mention of bans on other forms of same-sex unions, those would not be considered "marriage" under Polish law, therefore, it is appropriate to list "Constitution bans same-sex marriage" or something along those longs. Just because a country has a so-called "equal rights declaration," that does not automatically qualify legislation such as same-sex marriage, especially when the constitution specifically prohibits it. Heck, even the Iranian constitution claims that all of its citizens will be treated equally, and has similar anti-discrimination laws akin to Poland's. But, Iran does not recognize same-sex marriages, and homosexuality can even earn one the death penalty. Gender discrimination is also extremely prevalent (even within the government), which the constitution prohibits entirely. And unfortunately, a nation is not run by a soulless constitution itself that interprets itself for how it reads, rather humans do, and quite frequently, government leaders choose to go against the constitution, especially when there are so many diverse interpretations of a constitution. VoodooIsland ( talk) 00:51, 8 May 2009 (UTC)

Slovakia to yellow,please...It says on the main tempate that registered partnerhip is currently being debated in the country. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 16Dream.Ton y ( talk • contribs) 09:43, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

Austria should also be yellow, because there is a Registered Partnership Bill 2009 being debated. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 122.148.207.230 ( talk) 04:41, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Austria already has unregistered cohabitation, and is thus coloured light blue. This is a "higher" colour than yellow, which is used for countries which have no recognition but where recognition is under "political consideration", whatever that may mean (see below). Ronline ✉ 11:52, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Hi. I see that the number of countries coloured as being "under political consideration" have blossomed. In my view, this entire category should be eliminated, at least in the absence of any clear criteria regulating its use. Currently, six countries are included on the map: Ireland, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Estonia. In each of these countries, the nature of the debate is very different:

• Ireland: the Fianna Fail government has already introduced the heads of the Civil Partnership Bill and has indicated commitment to civil partnerships, even though it seems to be stalling. The other major parties support civil partnership to an even greater extent.
• Italy: the country is governed by conservatives who are largely unsupportive of any recognition for same-sex couples. There was political debate, including a Bill on this issue, during the previous Prodi government in 2006.
• Greece: the government has announced its intention to recognise unregistered cohabitation, but has indicated it may restrict this to opposite-sex couples.
• Bulgaria: very similar situation to Greece
• Slovakia: there is no "political consideration" per se, since the government has not made any explicit commitment to recognise same-sex unions. Some members of the governing SMER party have supported registered partnerships.
• Estonia: the proposal for registered partnerships seems to have died, after losing support from the Reform Party.

I think all countries except Ireland should be changed from yellow to green. Personally, I would eliminate yellow altogether, but if people insist on keeping it, then I think it should only be used in the following circumstances:

• a) Where recognition of same-sex couples is currently going through the lawmaking process - e.g. a Bill has been introduced, has been approved by one house of parliament, etc.
• b) Where the governing party has expressed its explicit support for recognising same-sex unions or for introducing a bill doing this

If we interpret "under political consideration" broadly, as meaning "under political discussion/debate" then we ought to include essentially all countries in Europe. Nearly every country has had some form of political debate on this issue. Ronline ✉ 11:51, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

Actually here in Bulgaria our homophobeslegislators are considering removing unregistered cohabitation altogether form the new family law, because they can't deny it to teh gayz.

Latest news, unregitered cohabitation is now out of the bill. Btw, why is Bulgaria red now? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 87.121.162.236 ( talk) 14:51, 11 June 2009 (UTC)

Estonian Reform Party not supported registered partnership? Could you give some sources? Ron 1987 ( talk) 13:31, 22 May 2009 (UTC)

I've unfortunately lost the source. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure whether they support it or not, but in any case no progress seems to have been made in Estonia on this issue in the past two years. I will continue researching this topic. Ronline ✉ 13:08, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

UPDATE: I have found this article, in Estonian, but machine-translated into English here, which provides more information. It does seem that the Minister of Justice made quite a firm commitment that some form of recognition would be implemented during 2009. So maybe Estonia should stay yellow. Ronline ✉ 13:15, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

I had always thought colouring all the Western European countries that had not some kind of partnership yellow to be wishful thinking. The map was first created in its present revision with the same yellows in 2007. How many governments have changed since then?

I have deyellowed all yellow countries except Ireland and Estonia. From the looks of it, someone tried to do this before, but was unsuccessful, because of how messy the file was (each path is coloured twice, by fill and style!) Fortuynist ( talk) 14:18, 24 May 2009 (UTC)

kosovo declared independance from serbia in 2008 and has nothing agenst gay marriage in its laws or constitution so it should show up gray The truth maker ( talk) 22:37, 25 June 2009 (UTC)

This map is based off the code of Blank map of Europe.svg; Kosovo needs to be separated from Serbia there for it to be here. Niew ( talk) 23:12, 25 June 2009 (UTC)