Reykjavík Grapevine - 23.07.2004, Blaðsíða 15

Change takes time and centuries of prejudice don´t disappear through an act of parlia-
ment, but when the people are willing, a new generation can be relied on to finish the job.
For this to happen, the environment for change needs to be created and nourished and
hence the importance of the Gay Pride movement.
Reykjavík is now preparing for their annual Gay Pride festival which, if last year is
anything to go by, will be attended by more heterosexuals than gays, many bringing their
families with them. Supported by the City of Reykjavík, who give 1.6 million ISK each
year in sponsorship, it is one of 120 such events organised around the world involving over
20 million people. The streets will be full, the entertainment will be packed and, when
it comes to a close, another important step will have been made in ensuring that future
generations accept gays and lesbians as part of the fabric of society.
Not everyone will be happy, though. Christian fundamentalists will seeth, simmer and
preach their doctrine of ´re-education for homosexuals’. Happily, their voice will ignored
by most. These fundamentalists take their lead from their brothers in Amerca who use
slogans which vary from the seemingly light hearted ‘Adam and Eve - not Adam and
Steve’ to the hysterical and sinister ‘The homosexual activist movement has set forth
to destroy the family...’ In America their words cannot be ignored so easily; they have a
growing following and a key supporter in George Bush. The man who sees everything in
terms of good and evil has thrown his weight behind a draft ammendment to the constitu-
tion which would define marriage as only between a man and a woman. There are similar
moves throughout Europe, many with links to the far right.
The movement to ban gay marriages whips up the same hatred and prejudice that was
hurled against the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and it all seems so uneccessary. A
man is capabale of loving another man as much as he is a woman: so it is with women. The
fact that same sex couples wish their union to be blessed and made permanent through
marriage is something that should be encouraged, not villified. Other countries should
learn from Iceland, which demonstrates to the world that gays and lesbians need not be
treated as a minority nor marginalised.
There will be gay marriages in the future and there will be, to the great delight of lawyers,
gay divorces, too. Same sex marriages are just like any other form of marriage, and should
be treated as such.
So, what´s all the fuss about?
“What we need is more men and women to enter marriage,” say the priests and
fundamentalists who worry about the collapse of a worthy institution. “We need men
and women who will stand before God, take their vows and keep them.” But what
they fail to make clear until recently is, “Gays and lesbians need not apply.”
This is one of those rare and delightful occasions when America, and most other
Western societies for that matter, can learn something from Iceland. This country has
lately been aquiring a very good record on its treatment of gays and lesbians to such an
extent that it is almost no longer an issue for debate. The people have accepted, voted,
and moved on, and while the Lutheran Church has failed to go the final yard of
actually marrying same sex couples, they do bless unions, and same sex couples can get
married in churches such as Fríkirkjan.
photos : Hörður Sveinsson