# Same-sex marriage in Greenland

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Notes
1 2 Performed in the Netherlands proper (including the Caribbean Netherlands), as well as in Aruba and Curaçao. May be registered in Sint Maarten in such cases, but the rights of marriage are not guaranteed.
↑ Neither performed nor recognized in Niue, Tokelau, or the Cook Islands.
↑ Neither performed nor recognized in six British Overseas Territories.
1 2 Neither performed nor recognized in some tribal nations of the US. Recognized but not performed in several other tribal nations and American Samoa.
↑ Registered foreign marriages confer all marriage rights in Israel. Domestic common-law marriages confer most rights of marriage. Domestic civil marriage recognized by some cities.
1 2 3 4 5 The Coman v. Romania ruling of the European Court of Justice obliges the state to provide residency rights for the foreign spouses of EU citizens. Some member states, including Romania, do not follow the ruling.
↑ A "declaration of family relationship" is available in several of Cambodia's communes which may be useful in matters such as housing, but is not legally binding.
↑ Guardianship agreements confer some limited legal benefits in China, including decisions about medical and personal care.
↑ Hong Kong provides inheritance, guardianship rights, and residency rights for foreign spouses of legal residents.
↑ Indian courts have recognised guru–shishya, nata pratha or maitri karar–type contractual relationships, but they are not legally binding.
↑ Most Japanese cities and prefectures issue partnership certificates, but they are not legally binding.
↑ Marriages conducted abroad between a Namibian national and a foreign spouse provide residency rights in Namibia.
↑ Romania provides hospital visitation rights through a "legal representative" status. :
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Same-sex marriage has been legal in Greenland since 1 April 2016. Same-sex marriage legislation passed the Inatsisartut unanimously on 26 May 2015. Approval by the Folketing followed on 19 January 2016, and the law received royal assent on 3 February. It took effect on 1 April, with the first same-sex marriage in Greenland taking place that day in Nuuk.
From 1996 to 2016, Greenland, an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, recognised registered partnerships for same-sex couples, providing most, but not all, of the rights and benefits of marriage. The ability to enter into a partnership was closed off following the legalization of same-sex marriage.

## Registered partnerships

Denmark's registered partnership law had been in operation since 1 October 1989. A bill to expand its application to Greenland was approved by the Inatsisartut on 14 May 1993 by a vote of 15–0 with 12 abstentions, and by the Folketing on 28 March 1996 by a vote of 104–1. The bill was given royal assent on 26 April 1996, and took effect on 1 July 1996. Jesper Kunuk Egede, an advocate who worked for LGBT Qaamaneq, later wrote that "the debate in the Inatsisartut was short and sober. Most members voiced their support for the proposal, but there were some critical voices. But even they did not vote against the proposal in the end. Subsequently there was some debate in the Greenlandic press, but there seemed to be a consensus that a law on registered partnership was a good thing." The law gave registered partners nearly identical rights to married couples, with the following three exceptions: joint adoption of children; laws making explicit reference to the sexes of a married couple did not apply to registered partnerships; and regulations by international treaties did not apply unless all signatories agreed.
The first same-sex couple registered in 2002. Registered partnerships are called nalunaarsukkamik inooqatigiinneq (pronounced) in Greenlandic, and registreret partnerskab (pronounced) in Danish. The law was repealed on 1 April 2016, and the ability to enter into a registered partnership was closed off on that date. Registered partners may retain their status or convert their union into a recognized marriage.

## Same-sex marriage
### Legislative action

A resolution, expressing the Naalakkersuisut's wish to opt in the current version of Denmark's marriage law, had its first reading in the Inatsisartut on 25 March 2015. The measure had been introduced by MP Justus Hansen from the Democrats party. It was approved unanimously 27–0 on second and final reading on 26 May 2015. The GlobalGayz website wrote in response to the passage of the same-sex marriage legislation that: "The fire storms of opposition seen in Paris, Berlin and Washington were totally absent before and during the short legislative procedure. Greenland's gay marriage emerged within a liberal society as naturally as the seasons change. The issue was human equality among the small population of less than 60,000 citizens in the country."
Approval by the Folketing was required before the law could go into effect, however. A bill was submitted to the Folketing on 28 January 2015 and had its first reading on 26 May 2015. It was planned to come into effect on 1 October 2015; however, it lapsed due to the 2015 parliamentary elections. A nearly identical bill with only minor formal changes was submitted on 29 October and had its first reading on 5 November. The second reading occurred on 14 January 2016, and the bill was approved 108–0 in its final reading on 19 January. The bill was given royal assent by Queen Margrethe II on 3 February, and took effect on 1 April 2016. The first same-sex marriage in Greenland was performed on 1 April at the Hans Egede Church in Nuuk between Laila Mølgaard and Henriette Simonsen.
Article 1 of the Marriage Act (Danish: Ægteskabsloven; Greenlandic: Aappariinneq pillugu inatsit) now reads as follows:
* in Danish: Loven finder anvendelse på ægteskab mellem to personer af forskelligt køn og mellem to personer af samme køn.
* in Greenlandic: Inatsit atuuppoq inunnut marlunnut assigiinngitsunik suiaassuseqartunut aamma inunnut marlunnut assigiimmik suiaassuseqartunut aappariilersunut.
    (The law applies to marriages between two persons of different sex and between two persons of the same sex.)
26 May 2015 vote in the Inatsisartut :
| Party | Voted for | Voted against | Abstained | Absent (Did not vote) |
| G Siumut | 9 Suka K. FrederiksenJens ImanuelsenNikolaj JeremiassenLars-Emil JohansenIneqi KielsenKim KielsenJens-Erik KirkegaardAnders OlsenLaura Tàunâjik | – | 1 Vivian Motzfeldt | 1 Jess Svane |
| Inuit Ataqatigiit | 9 Agathe FontainAne HansenJuliane HenningsenMimi KarlsenAaja Chemnitz LarsenKalistat LundNaaja H. NathanielsenPeter OlsenSara Olsvig | – | 1 Iddimanngiiu Bianco | 1 Aqqaluaq B. Egede |
| G Demokraatit | 4 Randi Vestergaard EvaldsenJustus HansenTillie MartinussenMichael N. Rosing | – | – | – |
| Partii Naleraq | 3 Hans EnoksenAnthon FrederiksenPer Rosing-Petersen | – | – | – |
| G Atassut | 2 Siverth Karl HeilmannSteen Lynge | – | – | – |
| Total | 27 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 87.1% | 0.0% | 6.5% | 6.5% |

### Marriages in the Church of Greenland

The Church of Greenland campaigned in favor of same-sex marriage legislation and worked closely with the government to ensure that same-sex couples would be able to have religious wedding ceremonies in the church. The Bishop of Greenland, Sofie Petersen, welcomed the legalization of same-sex marriage.