Has Obama tipped the scales towards gay marriage in Europe?
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA’S RECENT statement of support for gay marriage in the United States is touching off an avalanche of advocacy for equal marriage rights throughout Europe as well. No, nobody died and made him emperor. But his high-level announcement might just expedite a continent-wide trend towards full marriage rights for gays and straights alike.
Obama has retained a great deal of his personal - if not political - appeal in Europe, and when he talks, people start talking. While his support may not make gay marriage more appealing per se to its opponents, it seems to be making public opposition to it less plausible. In Berlin today, Green politician Volker Beck challenged Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose Christian Democratic Union and her Free Democrat coalition partners have long been dragging their feet on gay marriage, to quit stallling and finally announce that “It’s okay to marry gay.” The current German law, which the Social Democrat/Green coalition pushed through in 2000, only allows for a “registered partnership” (a.k.a. “homo marriage”) without full marriage status and which still withholds tax privileges and adoption rights - although largely for practical rather than "moral" reasons.
Responding to Mr. Obama's comments, Green party boss Claudia Roth said it was "a scandal" that the CDU/FDP coalition had failed to legalize full gay marriage nearly twelve years after the passage of the partnership law. The Left Party, not normally a fan of the President, announced that Mr. Obama “has sent an internationally heard signal that the German Bundestag should also pay attention to.” The party’s spokesperson for gay and lesbian issues, Barbara Höll, said that “all deputies should vote in the Bundestag, independently of their party and coalition affiliations” so that homosexuals may “quickly” move towards full marriage. “Discrimination,” she added, “is no longer in keeping with our times.”
Ines Pohl, the lesbian editor of the left wing Tageszeitung, editorialized this morning: "Make no mistake: This is an historic day. With his commitment to gay marriage, Obama has made history once again."
But it isn't just the left that is cheering Obama's move. Despite his government’s hesitation in the matter, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle of the coalition Free Democrats, who sealed his own “homo marriage” with boyfriend Michael Mronz back in 2010, announced that Obama’s statement was a “a brave step” in the spirit of the German government’s policies and, yes, “it’s okay to marry gay.” Today, encouraged by Obama and her party colleague Westerwelle, Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger called for full equal marriage rights in Germany. "Every life model deserves respect," she said.
Foreign minister Guido Westerwelle and sports manager Michael Mronz
Obama’s gay marriage "coming out" captured the headlines in every major European newspaper and has set an unignorable precedent. In France, it may further tip the balance towards a rapid introduction of equal marriage rights. President Nicolas Sarkozy (something of an expert on the topic, with three straight marriages and two divorces under his belt) regularly nixed the idea, stating that “to my knowledge and the current state of scientific knowledge, it requires a man and a woman to have a child.”
Tone-deaf comments like this may have helped cost him the election. According to the newspaper La Libération, speaking out in favor of gay marriage could have "made his image a bit more human," but ultimately he feared "alienating part of the traditional right-wing electorate." He needn't have bothered. His socialist successor François Hollande took a different tack, promising during his campaign to “open the right to marriage and adoption to homosexual couples” by 2013. Hollande defeated Sarkozy in a runoff election on May 6. It appears that French voters had other issues on their minds besides the threat of gay marriage. Who could have imagined it?
Already in February, the communist mayor of Villejuif "married" a gay couple in deliberate violation of French law, which still defines marriage as being between a man and a woman. Alexis Cortijos, one of the grooms, told reporters that "it's a militant act. We wanted to show certain people from the Right that people want to start moving things forward." They now seem to be moving forward very quickly indeed.
Alongside Germany and France, Denmark, Luxembourg, and Finland are considering going beyond their existing registered partnership laws and allowing full gay civil marriage. As far as Britain is concerned, Obama is behind the times. In Edinburgh, the Scottish National Party has announced that it is “inclined” to permit gay marriage in the near future. In London, party leaders David Cameron, Nick Clegg, and Ed Milliband are actively seeking action on the issue. This spring, Prime Minister Cameron famously announced: "I don't support gay marriage despite being a conservative. I support gay marriage because I am a conservative." No, Cameron hasn't turned into a blushing liberal, but he does know that it's not good politics for the Conservatives to be permanently branded "the nasty party."
The Netherlands became the first country to legalize gay marriage in 2001. So far, Belgium, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Spain, and Portugal have legalized civil ceremonies. Several Central European countries, including Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Hungary, and Slovenia, permit certain kinds of registered partnerships.
Further east, countries such as Poland, Lithuania, Belorus, Bulgaria and Ukraine have constitutions defining marriage as existing solely between a man and a woman. While it will likely take more than a few words from Obama to change their way of doing business, it’s hard to imagine the social revolution the Dutch tipped off in 2001 halting forever at mere national borders. And regardless of what Republicans might think, it would take a lot more than the election of Mitt Romney, the likely candidate of America's own "nasty party," to stop the movement for universal human rights in the United States as well.
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Comments
Yes, it's largely the tax aspects that are slowing the movement down in Germany as well. I imagine that gay marriage will lead to a certain amount of financial and immigration shenanigans, but gay couples will have a tough act to follow when it comes to that sort of thing!
In this little article I deliberately take a civil rights standpoint, leaving the messy details aside for the moment. All progress is messy, of course, but if given the choice, I'll go for greater freedom every time.
My feelings exactly.
Indeed, fundamentalists are completely absent here - I know some exist in the shadows, desperately homeschooling their kids about creationism etc. - but they aren't part of the public dialogue. Believe me, they are not missed.
While I'm hardly the expert, I'm also intrigued at how little interest most gays here have in the marriage issue relative to the situation in America, now that traditional marriage has become just one option in this society. I suspect the greater interest in the US has to do with that culture's demand for middle class respectability. When living in the US, I was always struck at how important it was to show up at social functions with your "spouse" or girlfriend. Here in Germany nobody really cares who you show up with, and I appreciate that.
Things are moving fast, but in the right direction. I remember clearly Ségolène Royal of the Parti Socialiste in France being against gay marriage in the 2007 election, with a sort of sophistry that made a curious conjuncture between American religious moralists and French leftist bureaucrats.
Now, maybe we've turned the page? Hollande is very much an opportunist. But, even if he's just jumping on the bandwagon, better late than never. Because the issue obviously has serious merits, whatever the political maneuvering.
"Religion was a freedom granted to the people to have or not have."
Well stated!
As Obama pointed out, the definition or marriage has been shifting, just like everything else over time. Recognizing these shifts are very important, and stating them out loud by politicians who can influence people's thinking is very powerful.
I think we can expect a shift in Europe pretty soon. It has already started in France, and I believe it will continue, not only due to people's dissatisfaction with the current economic crisis but also because bold political statements (such as Obama's endorsement of gay marriage) are likely to encourage people who share these views to speak up.
Yes, there's always an opposition, and sure, Obama's statement won't be popular with everyone. It will, however, make people think and potentially open up those who have been quiet about the issue.
Some day we might even get to a point where "gay marriage" is just called "marriage". Obama's statement might be the first important step in that direction.
Thanks, that's my hope too!
And Dick Cheney announced his support of gay marriage in 2009 maybe he set off the "tidal wave" in Europe?
Both suggestions are laughable.
But evolve he did. I’m sure it was only coincidence he did it the day after I published my own analysis but it seems to enforce my argument that Biden was just sending up a weather balloon with the bosses consent.
But the ‘evolution is still not complete. Obama did not endorse marriage equality as a federal matter and never came out and said same-sex marriage is ‘fundamental’ right guaranteed by the Constitution. Arguably he just adopted the same position as Vice President Dick Cheney in 2004 when said he believed marriage equality was a 'states rights' matter (this is the classic segregationist argument btw).
Yes, it’s marriage equality when both Cheney and Obama agree that same-sex couples should be able to legally marry even if they feel the issue is one the states decide democratically. However that does not mean Obama believes there is no Constitutional right to do so. While it’s fair to infer he thinks so Obama is still tap-dancing a bit and continues to speak Ketman.
Yes, Europe has been out in front on the national level, but don't forget the developments in a number of American states.
@Harrison
No tidal wave, obviously, but a tipping of the scales, as in Berlin yesterday. Obama's statement puts a lot of pressure on Chancellor Merkel, and it puts just that much more wind in Hollande's sails.
Oh yes, several western European countries have been out ahead on this, although the farther east you go, the less enthusiasm you'll find, cf. Poland etc. I don't know about Denmark, but I was aware that in Sweden there is also some deliberation about forcing the Protestant Church to perform gay weddings if requested. This will be an interesting test of Scandinavian tolerance, since it's not just a question of Protestants accepting it, but also blessing it.
In Germany, only registry office marriages are legal, the religious kind (performed afterwards) is optional. Persons of a religious bent thus marry twice, but only the first one counts. At issue here is gay civil marriage. I can imagine that many Protestant clerics, and pretty much the entire Catholic Church, would have a thing or two to say about enforcing gay church weddings. But social norms are changing so quickly here that even that debate may go much more smoothly than we can imagine today.
The US isn't even the leader on this issue in N. America. Canada and Mexico both beat us there.
On top of it all, Obama promised to do absolutely nothing when it comes to gay marriage (in fact, he vowed to do nothing), instead leaving it up to the states to decide.
Wow...what a bold leader. Can I offer you some more Kool-Aid?
I'm not sure what you were reading, or were you taken in by the header on the OS homepage? I know very well that many western European countries are way ahead on this, I live here after all. If you read my article, I clearly state that the Netherlands introduced full gay marriage in 2001 (!!) and even Germany pushed through registered partnerships around the same time. I also highlighted Cameron's recent statement. At issue is full marriage recognition, which has a ways to go in the countries where it is still up for a vote, and is still far off in the east, along with Italy and Greece - all still part of Europe, the last time I checked a map.
Having said that, the US has achieved a great deal on the state level - my own native state legalized gay marriage some years ago, and that didn't happen by itself. While I deplore the North Carolina vote, for example, I'd be amazed if they had voted any other way, knowing that region as I do. Gay marriage is much like other major reforms: the smaller, more homogeneous, and better educated the country, the easier it is to push them through.
That's still the opening to your post, right?
Then, as a footnote, you list out all the countries in Europe that are already recognizing same-gender marriage (and, a footnote we'll call a "paraphrased" version of wikipedia's article on the subject...Pro-Tip - when copying and pasting, mix up the order of lists you copy from elsewhere...no one will know that way)
That's why I asked, did you tack that bit on the end when you realized that your entire premise was ridiculous?
Problem is, I did read what you wrote. (and, I agree with you about small, homogenious cultures. It's easy for people to care about others who are like them, and even easier for people to hate others who are not.)
If you consult a map, you'll see that Europe is a very big place. Denmark and Sweden aren't exactly the norm as long as you've still got Poland and Bulgaria.
His statement may have had a modicum of effect in Germany. Other than that, the countries in Europe already had laws in place, had laws in the works already, or just aren't ready for something like this (eastern block).
So, the entire premise of what you wrote is either copied from an encyclopedia, or completely specious bullshit...
And, it's an editor's pick.
Did Forrest Fucking Gump get hired as the editor in chief of this joint when I wasn't looking?
I'll ignore the terms "specious bullshit" and "Forrest Gump." My piece is not specious but speculative, hence the title "Has Obama tipped the scales towards gay marriage?" Obviously, neither I nor anyone else could know the answer to that, and I don't provide it. These things take time, and I may return to the issue later on.
Somehow, seeing that you just posted a blog entry on "10 reasons not to vote for Obama," I suspect you think I've written one of those "Obama as superman" articles. Not so, I'm extremely critical and skeptical of the man, particularly in regard to foreign intervention and detention, where his record is appalling, and the farther you move away from American shores, the worse he appears. But on this issue he has certainly made headlines, even if it is just political manoeuvering. We'll see if he's also made history (as the German editor I quote in the article claims).
A non-issue since 2001, when the law allowing same sex marriages went into effect.
Yes, this attitude mystifies me too. I think one would really have to be uncertain about one's own straight marriage, and straight orientation, to start getting worried about how other people arrange their own private relationships. Or would you agree that this sort of zero-sum thinking is typical of the authoritarian mindset?
Obama didn't have to turn this into so blatant a culture war. You know damn well it will galvanize his opposition, but will it mean "faux" liberals will relent from their disappiontments and go to bat for him? I personally doubt it. I think his candidacy is in grave jeopardy and he didn't have to do this and would still have won the vast majority of the gay vote.
My partner and I have enjoyed a civil partnership under UK law since 2006. We have access (I believe) to the widest range of legal rights and benefits available to any same-sex couple in the world, even though our partnership is not (yet) called 'marriage' in law (though that's how it is, in fact, commonly described).
There are some countries that recognise gay marriage yet do not allow those couples to adopt; civil partners can adopt in the UK. Likewise, same-sex couples in states such as New York or Connecticut might be married, but they are a long way away from enjoying the full protection of the law, namely the 1,138 federal rights and benefits affecting married couples (e.g., immigration, tax, social security, and military). When is the US federal government going to show leadership on those matters, as many European states do for civil partnerships/domestic unions (as well as same-sex marriages).
Civil partnerships came about in the UK because activists and politicians very sensibly took a gradualist view that civil partnership would be more easily passed into law and generally accepted. Marriage could/should follow, mostly as a renaming of what civil partnership already grants us. Give or take a complaining archbishop, and the negotiation of certain religious groups, one day equality will come in name too (sooner rather than later, it's hoped). It should also be noted that gay marriage is something that David Cameron's Conservative Party was advocating long before President Obama publicly made his mind up on the subject.
Meanwhile, my partner and I might 'only' have a civil partnership, but we prefer that to a marriage that means little or nothing in the eyes of the law.
The U.S. has always followed both Europe and Canada. The Netherlands led the way with civil unions in 1979, (33 years ago!) Denmark followed in 1989 (23 years ago). The first U.S. state to offer civil unions was Vermont 2000 and that was 21 years after the Netherlands.
Hawaii was the first state to recognize marriage it in judicial precedent in Baehr v. Miike (originally Baehr v. Lewin) in 1993 but that was quickly struck down by legislation. Never happened.
The first same-sex marriages took place in the Netherlands on April 1, 2001. The countries that followed were Belgium (2003), Spain (2005), Canada (2005), South Africa!! (2006), Norway (2009), Sweden (2009, Portugal (2010), Iceland (2010) and Argentina (2010).
The first U.S. state to recognize same sex marriage was Massachusetts in 2004. State only.
On July 20, 2005, Canada became the FOURTH country in the world and the FIRST country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage. Europe has always been way out ahead by DECADES and these are FACTS not opinions.
Let me try and help you out with a recap of the above:
NO, the US is hardly a leader when it comes to gay rights, or any other kind of rights these days, more's the pity. It has been consistently missing the train when it comes to legalizing gay marriage.
HOWEVER, there has been huge movement on the state and local level. Just because Washington isn't doing anything, this doesn't mean that countless activists, legislators and lawyers aren't extremely busy in their own regions. I believe this counts for a lot, and is an inspiration to activists elsewhere.
I PERSONALLY believe that Obama's announcement - as limited and overdue as it is - will have an impact abroad, which is the point of my article. I don't know this for sure (although it's certainly happening in Germany), I doubt it can be measured, but it is my impression.
While I'm hardly an Obama man myself, I think he should be credited for getting things right. I think he was right in this case, not in others.