Reykjavík Grapevine - 14.07.2006, Page 11

Ten years ago, a law was passed in
Iceland that allowed homosexual
couples to enter into a civil union.
Four years later, in 2000, they were
granted the right to adopt the bio-
logical children of their partner. On
June 27, 2006, a new law was passed
in the Icelandic parliament that
finally placed homosexual couples
on equal footing with heterosexual
couples. They are now allowed
to register their partnership, and
have the same rights as anybody
else when it comes to adoption and
artificial reproduction procedures.
This eliminates almost all discrimi-
nation against homosexuals in the
system, with the exception of being
allowed to register as a couple in
religious organisations, which is
still not possible. This milestone in
the history of gay rights in Iceland
was celebrated at the Reykjavík Art
Museum on June 30th. The Prime
Minister of Iceland and a member of
parliament, among others, addressed
the crowd. Three people who were
more than just proud to attend the
event discussed their thoughts on
the legislation, politics and their
plans to get married. They are artist
Kristín Eysteinsdóttir, Hrafnkell
Tjörvi Stefánsson, the manag-
ing director of Samtökin ’78 (The
Icelandic Association for Lesbians
and Gay Men) Hrafnkell Tjörvi, and
Davíð Jóhannsson, a group leader at
Síminn telephone company (Iceland
Telecom).
What does this legislation mean to
you? Is it important to you?
Eysteinsdóttir: This means an
incredible amount to me. I now have
the same options when it comes to
my relationships as heterosexuals
do. I have lesbian friends who, up
until now, had to go to Denmark to
get artificially inseminated, which
is both expensive and complicated.
It’s not exactly easy to drop whatever
you’re doing and jump on a plane
whenever you’re ovulating. I think
this will have an even bigger impact
on homosexual men, because they
now have the option to adopt chil-
dren and start a family.
Jóhannsson: Overall, I think this
legislation was long overdue. It is
definitely important to me, but not
in praxis at this point in my life.
Perhaps in the future, if I plan on
having kids.
Stefánsson: Personally, I’m very
happy that I live in a civilised society
that is leading in the world when it
comes to human rights. What pleases
me most is that there was cross-
political solidarity on the issue. It’s
completely unique. Few other coun-
tries have come as far as Iceland has,
but it’s unheard of that all political
parties agree on furthering gay rights
under a right-wing government. It’s
proof of good will and understand-
ing.
How was it to finally register as a
couple?
Eysteinsdóttir: I went to the registry
office and applied, and the lady
behind the counter asked me: “Is
he here with you?” I didn’t even
understand what she meant at first,
I thought she was referring to my
father or something, but then I
realised that she probably thought
my partner was male. I replied that
my partner is a woman, and the lady
instantly apologised. She wasn’t
prejudiced. She just wasn’t used to it.
What’s the next issue for the gay
rights movement in Iceland?
Stefánsson: Legislation is one
thing, public acceptance is another.
A majority of our nation supports
gay rights, but passing laws is not
enough. For example, men and
women are supposed to be equal
under the law, but equality has still
not been achieved in many cases.
The same thing can be said of disa-
bled people and those who are not
of Caucasian origin. Homophobia
needs to be addressed in various
places, for example in sports. We
also need to change things in the
education system, by including dif-
ferent family types in the curriculum
and educating people about them.
Eysteinsdóttir: I think the church
is at the centre of the debate. A lot
of homosexuals are religious, and
everybody should have the same
options. Fríkirkjan (The Independ-
ent Church) blesses homosexual
marriages, setting a good example
other churches should follow. A
majority of our society supports gay
rights, and the church should try to
keep up with the people. My partner
and I are getting married in August.
When we tell people about it, we of-
ten get the response, “Good for you,
that’s such a statement.” It makes us
feel like we’re getting married for
political reasons, which is not true.
We’re getting married because we
want to. This is an example of hid-
den prejudice in our society, which
still exists.
Jóhannsson: I’m very pleased with
the recent change in events. It’s time
to stop and take a deep breath. We
need to realise that perhaps we don’t
always need to be fighting for some-
thing. I think we should allow this to
settle before we start focusing on the
next step. I’m very happy with what
just happened.
An Historical
Day to Be Gay
a column by þórdís elva
þorvaldsdóttir bachmann
opinion
“I have lesbian friends who had to go to Den-
mark to get artificially inseminated. It’s not
exactly easy to drop whatever you’re doing and
jump on a plane whenever you’re ovulating.”
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