Sweden’s Lutheran Church Still Likes Gays

Sweden’s Lutheran Church finally gave the green light to gay marriage, but with a caveat.

Not surprisingly, they say the word “marriage” should be reserved simply for hetero unions, while “same-sex partner” will be reserved for us homos. The Swedish government has allowed civil unions since 1995, but consistently define marriage as between a man and a woman. Politicians and activists have been pushing for a gender-neutral legislative language.

The Lutheran Church’s decision rejects such a proposition:

[The Church said] it was in favor of allowing same-sex couples to wed in church but recommended that the term “marriage” be reserved for heterosexual unions.
…
“Marriage and (same-sex) partnerships are equivalent forms of unions. Therefore the Church of Sweden’s central board says yes to the proposal to join the legislation for marriages and partnerships into a single law,” the Church said in a statement.

“According to the Church of Sweden’s board the word ‘marriage’ should however only be used for the relationship between a woman and a man,” it said.

The religious bodies consent to “same-sex partners,” however, continues their fight for new inclusive legislation.

If the new legislation is adopted, Sweden, already a pioneer in giving same-sex couples the right to adopt children, would become the first country in the world to allow gays to marry within a major Church.

While we’re all about this very good news, we can’t help but whether the increasingly prominent skinheads will have something to say.