Same-sex marriage in Austria

The decision took effect on 1 January 2019, making Austria the 24th country in the world and the fifteenth in Europe to allow same-sex couples to marry nationwide.

[1] Austria has also recognised same-sex registered partnerships since 1 January 2010, providing several, but not all, of the rights, benefits, obligations and responsibilities of marriage.

In December 2004, the SPÖ adopted a major policy decision on the issue of equal treatment for same-sex couples.

In addition to calling for the introduction of registered partnerships, the party supported the investigation of opening marriage to same-sex couples.

[3] The Greens praised the June 2005 referendum in Switzerland legalising registered partnerships and called for equal rights in Austria.

[4] In April 2006, the Vienna branch of the SPÖ followed the Greens in explicitly calling for the legalisation of marriage and adoption for same-sex couples.

In the "Perspectives" paper released by the People's Party on 1 October 2007, the coalition announced its support for registered partnerships (German: eingetragene Partnerschaft,[6] pronounced [ˈaɪ̯nɡɛˌtraːɡɛnɛ ˈpartnɐʃaft]) similar to the Swiss model.

In February 2009, Interior Minister Maria Fekter set up a working group, inviting delegations from Austrian LGBT rights organizations, including the Rechtskomitee Lambda (Lambda Legal Committee), RosaLila PantherInnen (Pink and Lavender Panthers) and HOSI Linz, Salzburg, Tyrol and Vienna, to hold talks on the issue of partnership recognition for same-sex couples.

[13][14][15][16][17] On 17 November 2009, the Faymann Government finally approved the registered partnership bill proposed by the Minister of Justice.

The Austrian LGBT rights organisation Rechtskomitee Lambda noted at the time the law was passed that there were 72 differences between registered partnerships and marriage.

[42] The Deregulierungs- und Anpassungsgesetz 2016, which included various other unrelated changes such as amendments to the gun law, was approved by both governing parties and NEOS and opposed by the FPÖ, the Greens and Team Stronach.

Austria indirectly saw its first same-sex marriage in 2006 when the Constitutional Court granted a transgender woman the right to change her legal gender to female while remaining married to her wife.

[48] The court invalidated a regulation that required married transgender people to divorce before their new gender was legally recognised.

[53][54] On 18 June 2015, the National Council rejected a proposal from the Greens requiring the Faymann Government to introduce same-sex marriage legislation.

[55] The Social Democrats (SPÖ) voted against, pointing to the fact that their coalition partner, the Austrian People's Party (ÖVP), opposed same-sex marriage.

[64] On 30 June 2016, the Petitions Committee of the National Council, which had previously asked for the positions of the ÖVP-led Ministries of Justice and Families, considered the "Ehe Gleich!"

The Ministry of Social Affairs, led by Minister Alois Stöger, responded unequivocally in favour of legalisation.

These responses were followed by further calls from party colleagues for the legalisation of same-sex marriage, while the coalition partner ÖVP largely remained silent on the issue.

[66] However, the Constitutional Office, led by Minister Thomas Drozda, gave a response which was similar to the ÖVP-led ministries, rather than in line with what his SPÖ colleagues stated.

initiative was considered again by the Petitions Committee, which decided to ask for an international legal comparison by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[71] In May 2017, when snap elections were called for 15 October 2017, the Greens proposed a summer deadline for the introduction of same-sex marriage.

[72] On 12 October 2017, the Constitutional Court agreed to consider one of the cases challenging the law barring same-sex marriage.

[82][83] No further action was taken on any of the bills prior to the date of the ruling's coming into effect, as the conservative First Kurz Government opposed same-sex marriage.

In September 2018, Justice Minister Josef Moser began preparations to implement the ruling, which would legalise same-sex marriage and open registered partnerships to different-sex couples.

In a marriage contract, two persons legally declare their will to live in an inseparable community, to rear children, to educate them, and to afford each other mutual aid.

On 26 June, the Judiciary Committee of the National Council passed a bill introduced by MP Irmgard Griss to amend the Private International Law Act (German: Gesetz über das internationale Privatrecht) to allow same-sex marriages even if one of the spouses' homeland does not recognize such unions.

Their relationship would not be automatically registered as a marriage upon coming back home in Austria, and the couples had to divorce first and then re-marry.

[110] Archbishop of Salzburg Franz Lackner reacted to the declaration, "I believe that the Church recognizes that a relationship between two of the same sex is not entirely without truth: there is love, there is loyalty, there is also hardship shared and lived in faithfulness.

[112] A 2006 Eurobarometer poll surveying up to 30,000 people showed that support for same-sex marriage among Austrians was at 49% (higher than the EU average of 44%).

A Pew Research Center poll, conducted between April and August 2017 and published in May 2018, showed that 72% of Austrians supported same-sex marriage, 25% were opposed and 3% did not know or refused to answer.