Luxembourg approves same sex marriage

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LUXEMBOURG (AP) — Lawmakers in Luxembourg, whose prime
minister is openly gay, overwhelmingly approved changes in the small
European nation’s legislation governing marriage on Wednesday that will
allow people of the same sex to wed and to adopt children.
The
Chamber of Deputies voted 56-4 to adopt the bill, which is said to be
part of the most fundamental rewrite of Luxembourg’s laws on marriage
since 1804. The chamber’s website said the new rules could take effect
in early 2015, or six months after their official publication.
The
Human Rights Campaign, a U.S.-based organization in favor of lesbian,
gay, bisexual and transgender rights, commended Luxembourg on its
decision.
Under the reform, Luxembourg’s legislators also fixed
the legal age for marriage at 18 and dropped existing legal requirements
for a pre-wedding medical exam, as well as the 300-day waiting period
that had been imposed on widows or widowers before they could remarry.
To combat forced marriages, the lawmakers provided for fines and prison
terms.
Xavier Bettel, who became Luxembourg’s prime minister in December, is openly gay.
Argentina,
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden and Uruguay
allow same-sex marriage nationwide. The United States, the United
Kingdom and Mexico allow it in some regions.

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