Sunday, June 13, 2010

Warm to SSM in Iceland

Scale can mean speed in same-sex marriage. That is, smaller is often faster and more efficient.

Consider that volcanic place, Iceland. This weekend, the Althingi (parliament) enacted nationwide SSM. The vote was 49 to 0 (14 absent but not protesting).

There are a couple of contrasts and lessons for us. First, we can contrast size; Iceland has just over 0.1% of our population at about 320,000 to about 309 million. That can mean quick action, agility and even tolerance. Second, the head of state is openly gay — Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir. Her nomination and election may say more about the openness of the country than the SSM vote.

More to our issues here, religion was a consideration. That nation has a state church, Lutheran The National Church of Iceland. As here and elsewhere, clerics can solemnize same-sex marriages or pass on them. The sillies who swear that accommodating gay couples means the end of freedom of religion can't even claim that in Iceland.

Throughout Iceland, marriage can now be between two individuals instead of a man and a woman. No humans were harmed in the making of these unions.

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