Are we free to love
whoever we want?

For most people, it is a good feeling to fall in love. But sometimes it can be difficult. It depends on who you have fallen in love with.

Bryllupskake i et likekjønnet ekteskap
Bryllupskake i et likekjønnet ekteskap

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation is not a choice, but it feels like something you are born with. Some people like the opposite sex, and others like the same sex. There are also people who like both sexes. Homosexuality (liking the same sex) is also found among animals.

Lykkelig lesbisk par
Lykkelig lesbisk par

Can you love whoever you want in Norway?
– A historical review

Yes, you can, but it hasn’t always been that way. Being homosexual, loving someone of the same sex, was a crime until 1972.

After 1972, it was no longer a crime to be homosexual, but it was still looked at as a psychiatric diagnosis until 1982.

From the 70s to the 90s, many important changes happened in society, but gay couples couldn’t get married until 2008.

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Pride-paraden i Oslo i 2018
Pride-paraden i Oslo i 2018

The Norwegian Marriage Act

A new law came in 1993. This law gave gays and lesbians the same rights, but not the right to adopt children or marry in the Church of Norway.

In 2009, the Norwegian Parliament voted for a new marriage law. This law gave gay and lesbian couples the same right to marriage and adoption.

A few years later, discrimination laws were stricter. People from the LGBT community are among the most discriminated against in society.

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Nygift homofilt par
Nygift homofilt par

Coming out of the closet

“Coming out of the closet” is an expression that describes the first time a person speaks openly about being homosexual. For some, it is easy to talk about and for others, it is very difficult.

Coming out of the closet is brave and free. You can finally be yourself and love whoever you want. Many people are afraid because they fear negative reactions from family and friends. Luckily, most people are met with positive reactions.

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Trist gutt inne i mørket
Trist gutt inne i mørket

The human right to love who you want

It is a basic human right to love whoever you want. Amnesty International says that countries are not free democracies if they stop people from loving who they want.

In many countries, LGBT people do not have the rights that they should have. For example, in Russia, there is no same-sex marriage law and you can be put in prison if you support LGBT rights in public. Parades are met with violence. So Amnesty claims that Russia violates the right to love.

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Regnbuefargede hender i håndjern
Regnbuefargede hender i håndjern

Religion as a barrier

In Norway, you can marry whoever you want. It doesn’t matter which religion you belong to. You just have to meet the conditions for marriage.

Not all religious scripts allow marriage. There are 29 countries in the world that forbid marriage between two people from different religions. Most of these countries are Muslim.

The Netherlands was the first country to allow homosexual marriage in 2000. More and more countries allow it, and Norway changed the law in 2008.

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Muslimsk kvinne
Muslimsk kvinne

Forced marriage

Forced marriage is when someone else decides who you are going to marry. It is often the family who decides based on religious beliefs. This is a kind of threat or pressure.

Forced marriage is not allowed in Norway. But it happens anyway in some immigrant communities. If this happens, you have the right to seek help from your school or your local health care centre.

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Tvangsekteskap med håndjern
Tvangsekteskap med håndjern

Arranged marriage

Arranged marriage is legal in Norway if both parties getting married are over the age of 18. It is the family that helps to find a partner, but both must agree and say yes. Historically, this often happens in royal families. Today it is mostly common in some ethnic communities.

Many politicians want to ban this because it is difficult to draw the line between arranged and t forced marriage.

 

Arrangert ekteskap i 1697

The battle for love

To love who you want has been a struggle in Norway and still is in many parts of the world. You should decide for yourself who you want to love.

The roads of love are mysterious, it is said,  and neither religion, gender, ethnicity or national borders can get in the way.

Sources:

Media Rights:

    1. Getty Images
    2. Getty Images
    3. Human-Etisk Forbund (CC BY-SA 2.0)
    4. Getty Images
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    6. Seventeen – YouTube
    7. Getty Images
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    10. Antoine Dieu
    11. Getty Images
    12. Ad Council – YouTube