Same-sex marriage in the Faroe Islands has been legal since 1 July 2017. Legislation allowing

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

and adoption by same-sex couples was approved by the Løgting on 29 April 2016. The

Danish Parliament 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 an ...

approved the necessary legislative adaptations on 25 April 2017, 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 oth ...

on 3 May and went into effect on 1 July 2017. The

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

, 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, was the last

Nordic region The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Swed ...

to introduce same-sex marriage.

Registered partnerships

Unlike

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 = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...

and

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 i ...

, the Faroe Islands never adopted registered partnerships,, ; da, registreret partnerskab, which would have offered same-sex couples some of the rights, benefits and responsibilities of

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

Same-sex marriage

Failed attempts in 2013–2014

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

legislation first appeared in the Løgting after the

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

gay pride parade in 2012. A set of bills to extend Denmark's same-sex marriage law to the Faroe Islands was submitted to the Løgting on 20 November 2013. If approved, they would have entered into force on 1 April 2014. Opposition to the bills from the parties of the governing coalition crippled their passage and the bills were rejected at the second reading on 13 March 2014, despite popular public support. Same-sex marriage became a significant issue in the September 2015 elections.

Introduction of legislation (2016)

Following the September 2015 election, MPs Sonja Jógvansdóttir, Bjørt Samuelsen, Kristianna Winther Poulsen and Hanna Jensen submitted a same-sex marriage bill to the Parliament Secretariat. The proposal, along with a bill permitting same-sex divorce, entered the Løgting on 17 November 2015. If approved, the law would be scheduled to go into effect on 1 July 2016. The

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, ...

took place on 24 November 2015. Though a majority of the committee scrutinising the bill were in favour of same-sex marriage, the second reading was postponed to the third week of March 2016. On 14 March 2016, the Welfare Committee presented their recommendation to the Løgting. Despite divisions, a majority of committee members, including Katrin Kallsberg, Sonja Jógvansdóttir, Óluva Klettskarð and Djóni N. Joensen, recommended the Parliament to pass the bill. Members of the committee in the minority,

Kaj Leo Johannesen Kaj Leo Holm Johannesen (born 28 August 1964 in Tórshavn) is a Faroese politician. He was the prime minister of the Faroe Islands, representing the Faroese Unionist Party ( Sambandsflokkurin). He took office, succeeding Jóannes Eidesgaard on ...

, Jenis av Rana and

Jógvan á Lakjuni Jógvan á Lakjuni (born 13 November 1952 in Fuglafjørður) is a Faroese politician, composer and teacher. He was speaker of the Faroese parliament, the Løgting, from 2011 to 2015 and from 2019 to 2022. He worked as a fisherman from 1969 to 1972 ...

, recommended that the bill be rejected. The second reading was held on 16 March 2016. There was not a majority for the proposal, as two members from the governing coalition, Kristin Michelsen and Heðin Mortensen from the

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

, said they would not support the proposal at this stage, and suggested that the bill be sent back to the Welfare Committee for amendments. They and several other members of the Løgting raised concerns that the legislation would mandate a right to same-sex marriages in the Church of the Faroe Islands. Following a short break, the Løgting voted to send the bill back to the committee by a vote of 26–2 with 5 abstentions. During the debate, several conservative members, who had vocally stated their opposition to same-sex partnerships in the past, said they would support legalizing registered partnerships for same-sex couples. Some members of the Løgting raised concerns about Section 14,2 of the Danish ''Marriage Act'',, ; da, Ægteskabsloven, which stated that couples who have a

civil marriage A civil marriage is a marriage performed, recorded, and recognized by a government official. Such a marriage may be performed by a religious body and recognized by the state, or it may be entirely secular. History Every country maintaining a pop ...

may have their marriage blessed by the state church. In response to this concern, the Welfare Committee later moved an amendment stating that the proposed new marriage law in the Faroe Islands would not be implemented by the Løgting before Section 14,2 had been either deleted or refrased.

Passage in the Løgting

The bill returned to the Løgting in its amended form for a second reading on 26 April 2016. Debate began at 11 a.m. and concluded well after midnight on 27 April. During the debate, Mortensen introduced a proposal to conduct a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

on the subject, which precipitated a crisis in the coalition government. During a 90-minute break in proceedings, Mortensen engaged in high-level talks on the matter with Prime Minister

Aksel V. Johannesen Aksel Vilhelmsson Johannesen (born 8 November 1972 in Klaksvík, Faroe Islands) is a Faroese lawyer and politician for the Social Democratic Party (Javnaðarflokkurin) and the current prime minister of the Faroe Islands and also served as prime ...

and other members of the Løgting. He eventually withdrew his proposal, telling

Kringvarp Føroya Kringvarp Føroya (KvF) (English: ''Broadcasting Service of the Faroe Islands'') is the national public broadcasting company of the Faroe Islands. It was founded on 1 January 2005 after a merger of the national radio and television networks, Útv ...

that he would not risk dividing or even possibly dissolving the coalition government. A few minutes later, a vote was held on the second reading, resulting in 19 votes in favour and 14 against. Every Government MP,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

MP Sonja Jógvansdóttir and two Opposition MPs (Magni Laksáfoss and

Edmund Joensen Edmund Esbern Johannes Joensen (born 19 September 1944 in Oyri on Eysturoy) is a Faroese politician, who was the Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands from 1994 to 1998. From 2015 to 2022 served as a member of the Danish Folketing, being one of two ...

of the Union Party) voted in favor. The bill was approved in its third and final reading on 29 April, again by a 19–14 vote. At this point, a vote was held on a proposal for a referendum on the subject, though it was defeated in a 16–17 vote.

Additional legislation and commencement (2017)

The Faroese bill required amendments to Danish marriage law to be enacted by the

. A bill to this effect was introduced to the Danish Parliament on 8 February 2017, and had its first reading on 28 February 2017. The relevant parliamentary committee approved the bill on 4 April, and the second reading was held on 20 April 2017. The bill passed its third and final reading on 25 April 2017 by a vote of 108–0 with 71 abstentions. It received

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 fema ...

on 3 May 2017. On 30 May 2017, the Løgting passed legislation which exempts the Church of the Faroe Islands from the obligation to bless same-sex marriages by a vote of 18–14 with no abstentions. Finally, a Danish royal decree formally necessary to give effect to the initial Løgting decision of 29 April 2016 was issued on 12 June 2017 and published on 16 June. Same-sex marriages have been available from 1 July 2017, the date the law came into effect. The first same-sex wedding in the Faroe Islands was performed on 6 September 2017 at Tórshavn City Hall between British couple Leslie Travers and Richard McBride.

Equal parentage legislation (2021–2022)

In December 2021, the Løgting passed two bills by an 18–13 vote guaranteeing equal parentage rights to married same-sex couples, including on

parental leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and ...

. Prime Minister Bárður á Steig Nielsen supported the bills, stating that "all parents should have the right to financial support". The laws went into effect on 1 January 2022.

Marriages in the Church of the Faroe Islands

Opposition from several members of the Løgting resulted in the Church of the Faroe Islands, the state church, being exempt from blessing same-sex marriages. The church can provide such blessings if the Church Assembly were to vote in favor of it.

Public opinion

A May 2013 Gallup survey found that 68% of

Faroese people Faroese people or Faroe Islanders ( fo, føroyingar; da, færinger) are a North Germanic peoples, North Germanic ethnic group and nation Ethnic groups in Europe, native to the Faroe Islands. The Faroese are of Norse–Gaels, mixed Norsemen, Nors ...

supported same-sex marriage, 27% were against and 5% were undecided. Another poll conducted in May 2014 found that

regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

divisions were significant in attitudes towards same-sex marriage, despite its overall results being similar to previous polls: 62% support, 28% opposition and 10% undecided. Support was lowest in

Norðoyar The six islands in the northeast of the Faroe Islands are together referred to as Norðoyar, i.e. the Northern Isles ( da, Norderøerne). These Islands from west to east are Kalsoy, Kunoy, Borðoy, Viðoy, Svínoy and Fugloy. Klaksvík Klak ...

and

Eysturoy Eysturoy (pronounced estroimeaning 'East Island') is a region and the second-largest of the Faroe Islands, both in size and population. Description Eysturoy is separated by a narrow sound from the main island of Streymoy. Eysturoy is extremely ...

at 42% and 48% respectively, and highest in Suðurstreymoy, which contains the capital

, at 76%. A poll conducted in August 2014 found that out of 600 respondents, 61% supported same-sex marriage, 32% were opposed and the remainder were undecided. A poll conducted by Gallup Føroyar in April 2016, requested by

and ''Miðlahúsið'', showed that 64% of respondents supported legalizing same-sex marriage. Support varied by age, with 79% of 18–24-year-olds being in favour, but only 53% of those aged 60 and above supporting. The capital area, Suðurstreymoy, had the highest level of support at 79%, while opposition was strongest in Norðoyar and Eysturoy, which showed 45% and 42% opposition respectively. A majority of voters from most political parties supported same-sex marriage:

Progress Progress is the movement towards a refined, improved, or otherwise desired state. In the context of progressivism, it refers to the proposition that advancements in technology, science, and social organization have resulted, and by extension w ...

voters at 89%, followed by Republic voters at 83%, 75% of Social Democratic voters and 62% of Self-Government Party voters. 50% of voters from both the Union Party and the People's Party also supported same-sex marriage. Centre Party voters were the only notable exception, with only 16% supporting same-sex marriage, while 84% were opposed. A poll conducted in September 2019 found that 71.1% of Faroese people were against repealing the same-sex marriage law, 16.3% were in favour and 12.6% were undecided. When broken down by political party, the results are the following: Republic voters (96% support, 3% opposition), Social Democrats (91% support, 3% opposition), Progress voters (77% support, 19% opposition), Union Party voters (67% support, 17% opposition), People's Party voters (46% support, 32% opposition), Self-Government voters (38% support, 36% opposition), and Centre Party voters (27% support, 52% opposition).

Notes

References

External links

Anordning nr. 724 frá 12. juni 2017 om delvis ikrafttræden for Færøerne af lov om ægteskabs indgåelse og opløsning, lov om ægteskabets retsvirkninger og retsplejeloven og om ophævelse af lov om registreret partnerskab
''Retsinformation.dk'' (in Danish) {{Status of same-sex unions LGBT rights in the Faroe Islands

2017 in LGBT history