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Interesting Courtcase in Austria

 
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Nameless
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Location: Vienna, Austria

PostPosted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 7:17 am    Post subject: Interesting Courtcase in Austria Reply with quote

An interesting courtcase made the news today:
A man who had been married for a long time (and had children with his wife) changed his gender a few years ago. When she wanted to register her new sex and name change with the authorities she was turned down because she was married and a marriage between same-sex partners isn't allowed; she would have to get a divorce before she could register the sex/name change.

Today the Constitutional Court decided that the decree that forbid a married person from changing his/her sex was incompatible with the existing law and thus invalid. That she could have the sex change registered and stay married.
Best as I can tell, this ruling doesn't explicitely affect same-sex marriages in general, but it may open the door to further lawsuits based on anti-discrimination laws and lead to same-sex marriages becoming legal sometime.

Definitely good news for transexuals or lesbian/gay couples hereabout.

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Styx
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 9:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's good to know that government can be open minded at least in some parts of the world. Sometimes I swear if it weren’t for the language barrier I'd have moved a long time ago.
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Aslaug
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 11:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Things are a little different here.

When I was married...*shudders in horror at the memory*...and going for surgery, I was informed that this was indeed impossible. I would, simply put, have to get a divorce BEFORE going into surgery.

HOWEVER...Denmark was the first country in the world to introduce the registered partnership for homosexual couples (which in -every- legal respect is a civil, unreligious marriage, giving the same rights to such couples as to heterosexual, married couples), we were also informed that this would not be a problem. We'd get a divorce and THEN simply get a registered partnership.

Fortunately, for me, it became a moot point. But here the legislation works even if one needs a divorce. I hope for you Austrians, Nameless, that you'll at least see similar legislation there in short order.

In any case...good for the two women and their children...

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Arctic_Mutt
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 06, 2006 10:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Good for Denmark -- Canada can't make up our mind on the same-sex union/marriage issue...

The last government (Liberal party) legalized same-sex marriage (in a parliamentary vote, no less) after the Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional to bar it.... then the Liberals lost over a corruption scandal, and the incoming Conservative party has promised to re-open the issue and hold another parliamentary vote to overturn same-sex marriage...to their credit they did say they would respect any same-sex marriages that occured while the law was in effect...

I don't see how you can bring in a right, then a year or two later try and remove it *shakes head*

-- thankfully the Conservatives are only running a minority government and are outnumbered by more progressive minded parties, so the vote will most likely fail Rolling Eyes

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Aslaug
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

*chuckles slightly* I hope it will fail, at least. I have always thought of Canada as a reasonably open-minded country.

And welcome to the forum, Arctic Mutt. Good to see you here Very Happy
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Nameless
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PostPosted: Fri Jul 07, 2006 6:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Styx wrote:
It's good to know that government can be open minded at least in some parts of the world.

Well, this wasn't from the govenment, but the Constitutional Court.
Currently we have a conservative government, so they are probably not too thrilled with this rule.

Our governments have a pretty bad track record when it comes to applying the rulings of the Constitutional Court. Sometimes when a decree was declared unconstitutional they just made a new decree that was basically the same as the previous one only worded a little different which would then be in force until the court got around to declaring it unconstitutional later on.
Another very common practice was to simply change a law that was ruled untonstitutional to an ammendment in the constitution and make it impossible to the court to revoke. For a very long time we had governments that had the needed 2/3 majority to do this.
At least the current government doesn't and the current Minister of Justice seems to be a little more progressive in this respect (even if she is from a nationalist/populist party).
The opposition parties are also rather liberal/progressive on this issue, so I don't think there is much the government can do to take a step back towards the middle ages here (even if many of the influential people there would want to).

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Valaina
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 12:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm -very- glad that the U.K. has introduced Civil Partnerships for same-sex couples. Smile And not only that, but we have a history of clinging onto laws. The British legal system is the epitomy of pack rat mentality. Hell, according to the letter of the law, hackney carriages (that's black cabs to you and me) still have to carry a bale of hay on board for the horse!

All joking aside, though, I really hope that more countries update their laws to reflect the people they govern in this way. Love doesn't discriminate, so why should the law?

*end of waffle*

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Shadu
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PostPosted: Sun Jul 09, 2006 6:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I really don't know how things are here on that regard but it is hard when those things (homosexual marriges and stuff) are influenced so much by the church. it almost feels like middle ages here sometimes. but we're slowly moving on and out.
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PostPosted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 6:08 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Shadu wrote:
I really don't know how things are here on that regard but it is hard when those things (homosexual marriges and stuff) are influenced so much by the church. it almost feels like middle ages here sometimes. but we're slowly moving on and out.


Shadu, doesn't Colombia still ban abortion? Or am I thinking of somewhere else?
I always though Latin America was traditionally very conservative socially, due to religion playing a larger role in modern life, yet I was surprised when I went to Brazil earlier this year to see an incredibly tolerant attitude to towards homosexuality.

I went to a "funk ball" party held in a school in a town of some 60,000 people near Sao Paulo. Most of the partygoers were younger then I (I'm 26), yet there was a very large number of openly gay couples in the party -- and even at least one young trans-sexual. I asked people if this was surprising, and most said it was normal, in fact in this town I was told some 50% of young men under 25 were gay .... I don't know if perhaps it was "trendy" to be gay there now?

But I grew up in a larger suburb of Toronto of some 200,000 people, and yet there was very very few openly gay people at my school; and the jerk patrol made life verrrry unconfortable for those few individuals.

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Styx
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nameless wrote:
Styx wrote:
It's good to know that government can be open minded at least in some parts of the world.

Well, this wasn't from the govenment, but the Constitutional Court.
Currently we have a conservative government, so they are probably not too thrilled with this rule.


Actually wouldn't the court be part of the government, just a different branch? Most governments have four branches: Legislative, Judicial, enforcement, and defense, the Constitutional court would be judicial. Some times the Supreme Court here will make a few enlightened decisions like Ro Vs Wade but normally Congress does it's best to ignore the ones it doesn't like.

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Nameless
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PostPosted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 11:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Styx wrote:
Actually wouldn't the court be part of the government, just a different branch? Most governments have four branches: Legislative, Judicial, enforcement, and defense, the Constitutional court would be judicial. Some times the Supreme Court here will make a few enlightened decisions like Ro Vs Wade but normally Congress does it's best to ignore the ones it doesn't like.

Technically, yes.

In normal use, though, by government you only understand the executive branch (Chancellor and the Ministers / Secretaries of State). They usually have control of the legislative branch as well.

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