PANGEA press release‘Denmark’s 2nd class citizenship casts a shadow over gay pride celebrations’ - international gay groupCopenhagen, 9 August 2010With just a few weeks to go until Copenhagen welcomes gays and lesbians from all over the world for its annual Pride celebrations, PANGEA – the Copenhagen- based network of immigrant lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered (LGBT) people - is calling for Denmark to end its second-class status for gay people and bring about marriage equality, in line with all other Scandinavian countries.
Denmark, which once led the world in the fight against discrimination against gays and lesbians through such ground-breaking legislation as registered partnerships in 1989, now not only lags the rest of Scandinavia, but countries in Africa, North America and Latin America as well.
“It was Denmark that took the first step with registered partnerships for same-gender couples so many years ago. For it now to be falling behind countries like Argentina, and South Africa, should be really disappointing to all of us who live in and love this country,” said William Agee, spokesperson for PANGEA.
Downgraded family status for LGBT immigrantsMost members of PANGEA - the group for immigrant LGBT people formed two years ago under the wing of LGBT Danmark - come to Denmark as highly skilled workers seeking to further their career or education, and many cite the added incentive of moving to a country with a reputation for progressive anti-discriminatory policies. But the fact that the Danish Parliament has decided again and again to vote against full marriage rights for all people, irrespective of sexual orientation, highlights how far Denmark has fallen from the vanguard of equality.
Marriage equality is particularly relevant to LGBT immigrants, since many have come with their husbands or wives from countries with more progressive legislation, such as Portugal, Belgium or Sweden, where their marriage vows are given equal status to that of heterosexuals.
To have their family status downgraded to that of “registered partnership” when moving to Denmark is humiliating.
Marriage is best understood as a relationship of emotional and financial interdependence between two people who make a public commitment. “Couples who take on the responsibilities and commitments of marriage deserve the cultural respect, social support, and legal protection of marriage. Registered partnerships create a second class status that severely stigmatizes LGBT couples,” according to William Agee of PANGEA.
PANGEA is thus calling on Denmark’s legislators to remove this stain upon the country’s reputation. As a first step all marriages between people of the same sex performed in other countries must be recognized as full marriage. Secondly, we call upon Members of Parliament to pass legislation to ensure the right to marriage applies to all couples resident in Denmark, whether mixed- or same-sex.
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PANGEA is a socio-political group created by LGBT ex-pats in Denmark, whose main aim is connecting ex-pats living in Copenhagen and the Øresund region. It is a sub-group of LGBT Danmark, the national organization for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. For more, visit: www.lgbt.dk/internationalgroup/ or Pangea Copenhagen on facebook. |
