AUSTRIA: Court Rules Against Same-Sex Marriage

Last month lawyers for five children of gay parents sued the Austrian government, saying that the children were being stigmatized because their parents could not marry. Today the Administrative Court in Vienna ruled against the children, saying in part that children of unwed parents no longer face much social criticism. The lawsuit was not supported by HOSI Wien, Austria’s main LGBT rights group, which is advocating for a broad reform of Austrian marriage laws in general before tackling same-sex marriage. The plaintiffs can now appeal in the federal court system.

RELATED: The European Union currently has 28 members. Same-sex marriage is legal in twelve of them: Belgium, Denmark, Finland (effective 2017), France, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia (effective date pending), Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland.) Civil unions are legal in eight EU nations: Austria, Croatia, Cyprus (effective date pending), the Czech Republic, Estonia (effective 2016), Germany, Hungary, and Malta. No partnership recognitions exist in eight EU nations: Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Non-EU members Norway and Iceland legalized same-sex marriage in 2009 and 2010, respectively. Non-EU member Switzerland legalized registered partnerships in 2007.