Yesterday, the Moderate party, the main party in the Swedish centre-right governing coalition, decided that the party will be in favour of gay marriages.
This was one of the decisions that got attention at the Moderate party´s yearly party congress this week-end in the City of Gävle 200 km north of Stockholm.
The issue of a new marriage law in Sweden that does not make a difference between the sexes, has been discussed for years in Swedish politics. The Moderate party has, together with the Christian democrats, been the only party in the Swedish Riksdag (parliament) which does not support a law allowing gay marriage. Since 1995, it is allowed for gays to registrate a "partnerskap" (civil union), which basically corresponds to the judicial status as marriage. The difference is that the ´civil union´ is not included in the traditional rules about marriage in Sweden where the church can be the single authority to approve the marriage.
The opponents claimed that almost everywhere in the world, the institution of marriage is about a man and a women. They also argue that the ´civil union´ law gives the same rights to homosexuals. Dagens Nyheter spoke with Patric Åberg who said that is was not of his business what people do in their bedroom - But this is about traditions and trend. Marriage has always been a union between man and woman andI want it to stay that way, he says.
Member of Parliament Tomas Tobé (on the picture) was one of those that debated the issue and argued for a "yes". - I hope that the congress will provide the possibility also for me to get married in the future, he said according to Dagens Nyheter.
Tobé also wanted to remind us that the same arguments were used by the traditionalist fraction in the debate about a civil union law for homosexuals about 15 years ago.
Except the decision to accept a gay marriage law, the Moderate´s party congress opposed the party leadership today in the issue of gambling.
The party congress decided that the party should be in favour of the Swedish state to get rid of its ownership of ´Svenska Spel´ (Swedish association for lotteries, betting etc.). That is the only setback though for a party leadership which is quite popular. The party leader Fredrik Reinfeldt has brought the party towards the centre under the new label "Sweden´s new worker-party". In his opening speech Reinfeldt said that the party must choose. Either to continue the change or to die.
Source: Dagens Nyheter