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Civil unions were introduced in Denmark by law of 7 June 1989, the world's first such law. It has the form of a registered partnership (Danish: "registreret partnerskab"), but has almost all the same qualities as marriage. All legal and fiscal rights and obligations are as for a heterosexual marriage, with four exceptions:
- registered partners cannot adopt, with the exception that one party can adopt the biological children of the other
- registered partners cannot have joint custody of a child, except by adoption
- laws making explicit reference to the sexes of a married couple don't apply to registered partnerships
- regulations by international treaties do not apply unless all signatories agree.
Registered partnership is by civil ceremony only. The Danish state church has yet to decide how to handle the issue, but the general attitude of the church seems positive but hesitant. Some priests perform blessings of gay couples, and this is accepted by the church, which states that the church blesses people, not institutions.
Divorce for registered partners follow the same rules as ordinary divorces.
Only citizens of Denmark, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Iceland can enter a registered partnership in Denmark. This list is adjusted whenever a new country introduces gay marriage. This rule excludes foreigners from entering gay marriages that won't be legally valid in their home country.
As of 1 January 2002 there were more than 2000 registered partnerships in Denmark, of which 220 had children.
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