Luxembourg Approves Same-Sex Marriage Bill

Lawmakers in Luxembourg, the least populated European country, approved same-sex marriage on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. The country, whose prime minister is openly gay, will also allow people of the same sex to adopt children.

The bill was part of the most fundamental rewrite Luxembourg has done concerning marriage since 1804, the AP wrote. The Chamber of Deputies voted 56-4. Its website said the new rules could take place six months after their official publication, which would probably be in early 2015.

Boris Dittrich, advocacy director of Human Rights Watch’s LGBT rights program, was pleased with the decision on Wednesday. “This is a happy day for Luxembourg and for those who favor equal rights for all, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity," he said, according to the Independent.

“The law will enable gays and lesbians in Luxembourg to marry the person they love and will strengthen the fundamental rights of everyone in Luxembourg to equality and non-discrimination,” Dittrich added.

“Gay people should have the same rights as heterosexuals,” Green MP Viviane Loschetter said, according to the Independent. “With this law, we do not throw overboard all the values of our society.

She continued: “All we have done is give equal rights to gay people. We formally recognize a form of relationship that has always existed.”

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