Austria Legalizes Civil Unions -- But Don't Bother Trying to Adopt

by Nathan Tabak · 2009-12-15 09:28:00 UTC
Topics:

Regenbogen gay pride parade in Vienna, 2007

When New Year's Day 2010 rolls around, one more country will take a crucial step forward on gay rights. That's the day when Austria will begin performing same-sex civil unions, following the parliament's  passage of a civil union bill on Dec. 10.

While Austria is by no means unanimously in favor of LGBT equality, the bill passed with a substantial 110-64 majority. Objections came from the perversely misnamed right-wing Freedom Party. In a statement echoing the American right's rhetoric on the issue, the party chief, Heinz Christian-Strache, asserted that "the parliament's approval went against the will of most Austrians and undermined the institution of marriage."

Strache and the Freedom Party are no strangers to bigotry. This, after all, is the same party that was headed for over 14 years by neo-fascist (and closeted gay man) Jorg Haider, who is infamous for praising Adolf Hitler's labor policies and anti-immigrant sentiments. Strache has done his able best to surpass this less-than-illustrious legacy, ridiculing women in traditional Muslim garb as "female ninjas," and running campaigns featuring slogans such as "Vienna must not become Istanbul."

Unfortunately, Strache and his bigoted allies were able to win substantial compromises in the drafting of the civil unions bill. While Austrian same-sex couples will gain many of the basic rights afforded to straight marriages, such as alimony and pensions, the bill bans them from adopting children or using artificial insemination. Moreover, they can't even register their unions before civil registrars like their straight friends and family members; instead, they'll be specially registered with local authorities.

Thankfully, supporters of gay rights aren't giving up, and see the bill as merely a stepping stone toward full equality. As Gabriele Heinisch-Hosek, the Austrian minister of women's rights says, the vote of Dec. 10 was "a first step in the right direction." In a country with a troubling recent history of embracing the far right, every step counts.

Photo by Manfred Werner, via Wikimedia Commons

Nathan Tabak is an LGBT rights activist who currently works for Renna Communications.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Hillary Clinton: The Most Pro-LGBT Secretary of State Ever
NEXT STORY:
On Aeroflot's Birthday, Russian Activists Condemn Company's Anti-Gay Record. And You Can Help.

COMMENTS (2)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.