LGBT rights in Azmara

LGBT rights in Azmara
Location of  Azmara  (dark green) in Euclean Community  (light green)  –  [Legend]
Status	Legal since 1855, age of consent equalised in 1974
Gender identity	Right to change legal gender since 1989; self-identification since 2017
Military	LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military
Discrimination protections	Sexual orientation and gender identity/expression protections
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	Same-sex marriage since 2004
Adoption	Full adoption rights since 2004

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the Commonwealth of Azmara are considered some of the most progressive in the world. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised in 1855 in the new republican legal code, yet laws against public indecency were often used to persecute LGBT individuals before 1974 when the age of consent was equalised. Since 1989, transgender individuals have been allowed to change their legal gender, with requirements for surgery being removed in 2009 and gender self-identification being introduced in 2017.

In 1992 the third government of Aarne Leifssun passed a law granting cohabitation rights to same-sex couples living together, yet this would be superseded in 2004 as Niina's Law was signed by President Liis Helmutsdohter, granting full marriage and adoption rights to same-sex couples. Since 1995, discrimination in employment and the provision of goods and services on the grounds of sexual orientation has been prohibited, with this being extended to gender identity and expression in 2009.

Polling has shown consistent support for LGBT rights in Azmara in the 21st century, with 85% of respondents responding in support of same-sex marriage in a 2017 JuGov poll. Aalmsted, especially the boroughs of Eleinasburg and Lilijenburg, has gained a reputation as being an LGBT-friendly city in recent years.

Laws regarding same-sex sexual activity

Between 1578 and 1794 under the jurisdiction of the Union of Groonbank-Westmaark under the Rudolphine Confederation and later of the Azmaran Confederation sodomy was defined as a crime with punishment often consisting of hanging or imprisonment. Briefly during the Weranian Republic's invasion and the creation of the Republic of Westmaark the anti-sodomy law was removed from the books, yet was reinstated after the Kingdom of Azmara was created in 1802 as Clause 193.

After the Revolution of 1855 created the Commonwealth of Azmara, a new legal code was created inspired by ideas of rationalism and secularism, with many laws regulating private sexual activity being removed from the code including Clause 193. However, laws criminalising indecency remained in the code as Clause 194 and were varyingly used to prosecute LGBT individuals, especially during the National Coalition government of 1923-1932. Furthermore, as no official law existed specifying an age of consent for same-sex sexual activity, homosexuals were sometimes arrested on charges of statutory rape.

This situation was addressed by the Radical minority government of Aleksaander Mâþijassun, with the government successfully proposing a reform of laws regulating sexual conduct to officially set the age of consent for homosexual activity to 16 as it was for heterosexual activity and remove Clause 194 from the code to remove any legal grounds for the prosecution of consenting homosexual adults. This also coincided with the Ministry of Healthcare declassifying homosexuality as a mental disorder.

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Cohabitation rights

The issue of recognition of same-sex couples became a significant topic of discussion during the 1990 election campaign as the Azmaran Democrats introduced a campaign promise to allow same-sex couples some of the rights of opposite-sex married couples. This would be adopted as official policy of the third government of Aarne Leifssun, formed in the aftermath of the election with ministers from Gold Flame, The Radicals and the Azmaran Democrats.

In November 1991 a bill introducing an official "cohabiting partner" status (Azmaran: taaśamenliibenspaartnerśip) was introduced to the Folksmot by the government. This would, amongst other things, grant same-sex cohabiting partners "next of kin" status with regards to situations such as hospital visitation and the division of property after death, yet would lack rights given to married couples such as adoption rights. This bill would be signed into law in January 1992 by President Jana Eryksdohter after passing both houses of the Alþing.

Same-sex marriage

The Green-Left Alliance, an electoral alliance between the Green Party, the Azmaran Section of the Workers' International and New Deal, adopted the legalisation of same-sex marriage as official policy at its 1997 conference and introduced a bill legalising same-sex marriage to the Folksmot at the start of 1999, yet the bill failed to pass the Internal Affairs Committee by the dissolution of the Folksmot before elections. A second attempt to introduce a same-sex marriage bill by the Alliance in 2000 failed to reach quorum at its second reading and was thus not passed.

Same-sex marriage would become a prominent issue in the early 2000s as public support increased, with the newly-merged Radicals and Democrats actively endorsing its legalisation in the 2002 election and both of the leading candidates in the 2003 Workers' Party leadership election, Eleina Helmutsdohter and Niina Hermansdohter, coming out in support of its legalisation. After being sworn in as Thingspeaker on the 3rd May 2003, Eleina Helmutsdohter listed the legalisation of same-sex marriage as one of her government's priorities and on the 15 January 2004 Internal Affairs Secretary Niina Hermansdohter introduced a bill legalising same-sex marriage, which would pass the Internal Affairs Committee on the 16th February. The bill would pass the Folksmot 93-44 on the 24th March and the Landsmot 43-27 on the 22nd April.

24 March 2004 vote in the Folksmot of Azmara

Party	Votes for	Votes against	Abstentions	Absent (Did not vote)
G  Workers' Party (Ap)	34	5	1	4
G  Gold Flame (GF)	26	9		2
Centre Party (Mp)	2	26	2	2
Radicals and Democrats (ReF)	21			1
Green-Left Alliance (GLB)	10			1
Sotirian People's Party (SFp)		4
Total	93	44	3	10

After being signed into law on the 2nd May by President Liis Helmutsdohter, the bill, which would come to be known as Niina's Law, would come into effect on the 1st July 2004, the same day of the first same-sex marriage ceremonies in the country, with 35 same-sex couples being married in Lilijenwald Park on the day as the first set of same-sex marriages in the country.

Adoption and family planning

During 1999, the Azmaran government announced its intention to reform the status of "cohabiting partner" to allow for members of such partnerships to adopt their partner's children as their own, citing the number of same-sex couples with pre-existing children and the administrative difficulties of not recognising both members of a partnership as parents. The proposal was supported by the governing Workers' Party, Radicals and Azmaran Democrats as well as the opposition Green-Left Alliance, with Gold Flame allowing its members a free vote and the Centre and Sotirian People's parties opposing the bill, and came into effect on the 1 April 2000.

This amendment was superseded with the passage of Niina's Law in 2004, which granted same-sex spouses the right to jointly adopt children within Azmara and lesbian spouses the right to artificial insemination, with children parented through this scheme being automatically recognised as the child of both partners. Official guidance by the Ministry for Pensions and Social Welfare, which is responsible for family policy and children's rights, notes to same-sex couples that while "the adoption of children from abroad by same-sex couples can be legally recognised in the Commonwealth of Azmara", "this does not affect individual countries' policies with regards to the legal permissibility of same-sex adoption from these countries over which the Commonwealth's government has no effect", advising same-sex couples to be aware of the laws of countries in which they intend to adopt from.

Commercial surrogacy is still illegal in Azmara, and while there are no laws against altruistic surrogacy, guidance by the Ministry of Pensions and Social Welfare states that any such agreements are not legally enforceable.

Military service

Lesbian, gay and bisexual individuals have been able to serve in the military since the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness by the Ministry of Healthcare in 1974. Transgender individuals have been similarly able to serve since the removal of transgender identity as a mental illness by the Ministry in 1989.

Reports of discrimination against LGBTQ individuals in the Commonwealth Armed Forces have gradually declined since the removal of these restrictions - while a 1993 report stated that the forces operated under a de facto "don't ask, don't tell" policy and urged the government to address this, a 2017 report highlighted that LGBTQ soldiers, while facing some discrimination, were largely free to be themselves and many felt their identity was not a hindrance to their roles.

Transgender rights

A legal avenue for transgender individuals to change their legal gender has existed since the passage of the 1989 Law on Sterilisation and Sexual Reassignment by the First Government of Herman Jonssun. This law, designed to tackle multiple prior court cases in which trangender individuals had had to sue the government to change their legal gender, allowed for individuals that had undergone gender confirmation surgery to change their legal gender on documents.

While seen as a victory by the LGBTQ rights movement upon its passage, the law has been amended three times since its passage to address elements seen as "unfit for purpose". Namely, the 2009 Law on Gender Reassignment removed the requirement for surgery, replacing it with the submission of evidence that the individual had lived as their chosen gender for a period of a year, was over 18 and possessed a diagnosis of gender dysphoria.

In September 2016, after the publication of a report on the living conditions of LGBTQ Azmarans, Nathalie Dunkle, Chair of the Folksmot Culture and Equality Committee, proposed a new draft Law on Gender Reassignment which would introduce the principle of gender self-identification - individuals would merely have to sign a form stating that they intended to permanently change their legal gender with a following three month reflection period. The law would also allow for individuals over 16 to change their legal gender through this method.

After gaining the support of Thingspeaker Sofija Freidriksdohter and Opposition Leader Eryk Jorśsun, the law would pass the Folksmot in an 83-48 vote and the Landsmot in a 39-31 vote over the course of January and February 2017 and would be signed into law by President Maarija Ryginsdohter on the 22nd February. However, due to the impending 2017 election, Internal Affairs Secretary Aansgaar Jonssun, who had voted against the proposal, stated the law would not go into effect until after a government was formed after the election. The law's full implementation would be done by his successor, Sofija Anasdohter, immediately after she took office on the 19th May.

A statement released by President Maarija Ryginsdohter in November 2020 included a formal apology on behalf of the Azmaran state to those sterilised under the 1989 Law, with the statement describing it as a "grotesque invasion of bodily autonomy" that "affronted the fundamental right guaranteed by the Basic Law of this Commonwealth to freely express oneself".

After ascending to the position of Thingspeaker, Anasdohter would seek to amend the 2017 Law to allow for the assignment of "X" markings to those born intersex and for non-binary individuals to change their legal gender markings to this under the same procedure. This measure, alongside one to criminalise non-consensual reassignment procedures on intersex minors, would be signed into law by President Harald Alekssun on the 1st July 2022.

Discrimination protections

In 1995 the Althing passed the Law on the Prohibition of Discrimination and Harrassment, which amongst other protected characteristics forbids discrimination in employment and the provision of goods and services on the basis of sexual orientation. After the successful passage of the 1995 Amendment to the Basic Law which allowed the Government to regulate hate speech, this law would be quickly amended after its passage to penalise speech inciting hatred based on its protected characteristics, thus including sexual orientation.

A dispute over the meaning of the word "jener" (Estmerish: sex or gender) in the 1995 Act and whether it referred to one's assigned sex at birth or gender identity culminated in a 2009 4-3 Commonwealth Labour Court ruling that a bar in Mideltuun could fire an employee on the basis of their transgender identity. This decision, described by then-Thingspeaker Niina Hermansdohter as "abhorrent", resulted in a successful cross-party amendment by members of the governing Workers' Party and Radicals and opposition Gold Flame and Green Party to amend the law to clarify that gender identity and gender reassignment were covered, which would pass 83-54 in the Folksmot and 40-29 in the Landsmot.

A further 2015 amendment to the 1995 Law specifically created the Commission for Social Equality, an independent public body tasked with investigating claims of discrimination in society and pursuing goals of equality. Included in this body's remit is pay discrimination, with the body monitoring public sector pay differentials on the basis of protected characteristics including sexual orientation, gender identity and gender reassignment with the intention of reducing discrimination and since 2019 monitoring Azmaran corporations with over 200 employees on the same grounds.

Within the Nordberg Agreement signed between the Gold Flame, Centre, Radical and Green parties to form a government in June 2023 was a promise to establish a special task force within the Commonwealth Police Force to investigate and prosecute LGBTQ+ hatecrimes, with Internal Affairs Secretary Henrik Jorśsun stating he expected the unit to be operational "by summer 2024".

Despite the legal framework against discrimination against LGBTQ+ people, Azmaran social researchers have found that a significantly higher proportion of LGBTQ+ individuals have reported feeling marginalised due to their identity than heterosexual and cisgender individuals. It is also estimated that LGBTQ+ individuals are significantly overrepresented amongst the homeless youth population.

Blood donation

In October 2019, a petition condemning a ban by the Ministry of Healthcare on men who have sex with men from donating blood as "the last legal avenue of discrimnation against gay Azmarans" gained over 300,000 signatures, including famous Azmarans such as singer-songwriter Niina Aleksdohter, economist and public intellectual Kaþeriina Eryksdohter and figure skater Frei Akselssun. This was followed by the Folksmot Healthcare Committee commissioning a report into the effects of changing the law, with the May 2020 report recommending the replacement of the ban with a 12-month deferral period which those in a monogamous relationship would be exempt from.

Government formation after the 2020 election would result in Maarijana Helmutsdohter becoming Healthcare Secretary, who would begin the process of formally changing Ministry guidance to follow the report's recommendations and would come into effect in 2020.

Conversion therapy practices

In January 2018 the Government of Eryk Jorśsun introduced legislation banning "any psychological or physical intervention designed to suppress or alter an individual's real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression" which would overwhelmingly pass through the Althing, being signed into law on the 1st April 2018. Practice of such therapies is punishable by up to seven years imprisonment and will result in the suspension of the practitioner's medical or psychiatric licence if they possess one.

Living conditions

The unofficial flag of the Azmaran LGBT+ community.

Aalmsted Pride 2023

Aalmsted Pride 2017

Azmara has in recent years gained a reputation as an LGBTQ-friendly country. Market research company JuGov has frequently polled the Azmaran public on LGBTQ issues, finding in 2017 that 85% of the population agreed that same-sex marriage should be legal and that 89% agreed that homosexual people should have the same rights as heterosexual people.

The country's capital, Aalmsted, hosts a significant LGBTQ scene with a gay village consisting of multiple bars, nightclubs, restaurants and shops catering to the LGBTQ community being located around Herman-Marckssun-Plaas in the Borough of Eleinasburg and an increasing concentration of LGBTQ-themed establishments in Lilijenburg. Aalmsted Pride is held yearly in late June between the two neighbourhoods, seeing 40,000 people participate in the pride parade and the pride festival in Lilijenwald Park seeing further traffic. This significant LGBTQ scene has been used by the country's tourism board to promote Aalmsted as an LGBTQ-friendly city break destination and the country more broadly as a safe destination for same-sex couples to visit.

Other major cities such as Jorś-Hylager, Stajnensby, Ryksby, Saltsdyyk, Kyningsmer, Mideltuun, Westhaaltuun, Nordberg and Karlsby also have notable LGBTQ nightlife and annual pride parades albeit on a smaller scale, while the small coastal city of Sooþbryg is also known for having a disproportionately large LGBTQ community.

Multiple LGBTQ rights organisations operate within the country - the largest, HBT Azmaara was originally formed in 1957 as the Alliance for Homosexual Rights (Bund foor Homoseksiśrehten), adopting its current name in 1984 and providing services such as counselling and support to LGBTQ youth, health awareness and political campaigning. Other organisations with more specific focuses exist such as Rainbow Generation (Jeślâht Rejnboogen), FoorTJ and HBTSundhed.

Politics

The major Azmaran political parties have become increasingly supportive of LGBTQ rights, with The Radicals, the Green Party and the Socialist Party all having a significant history of advocating for LGBTQ people and the majority factions of two of the country's three traditional largest parties, the Workers' Party and Gold Flame, having supported many advancements made on LGBTQ rights since the early 1990s. The third major party, the Centre Party, has historically been opposed to measures such as same-sex marriage and gender self-identification, yet the party stated upon returning to government in 2005 that it had "no intentions" of reopening the former debate and current leader Henrik Jorśsun stating in 2023 that the party was "wrong" to oppose both and issued a formal apology to the community for his party's past record.

Since the election of the Green Party's Johan Perssun as the first openly gay Member of the Folksmot in 1996, multiple LGBTQ individuals have served in legislative and executive roles within Azmara's government - 13 LGBTQ individuals were elected to the Folksmot at the 2023 election. Most notable is Ana Freidriksdohter, who since becoming Leader of The Radicals has been the first openly LGBTQ leader of a major party, also being the first LGBTQ person to serve as both Foreign Secretary (2020-present) and Deputy Thingspeaker (2020-2023). Other notable LGBTQ politicians include former Culture Secretary Wiljâm Askerssun, Euclean Secretary Nathalie Dunkle, former Healthcare Secretary Frei Niinassun-Mac Pharláin, Finance Secretary Wiljâm Alanssun and Ostlaak Provincial President Mariina Askersdohter.

Openly lesbian economist and public intellectual Kaþeriina Eryksdohter became the first LGBTQ candidate for President of Azmara in 2021, coming third with 21.2% of the vote.

Summary table

	Yes/No	Notes
Same-sex sexual activity
Same-sex sexual activity legal		Since 1855
Equal age of consent (16)		Since 1974
Discrimination laws
Anti-discrimination laws in employment only		Since 1995 (sexual orientation)
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services		Since 1995 (sexual orientation)
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech)		Since 1995 for sexual orientation and since 2009 for gender identity
Anti-discrimination laws concerning gender identity		Since 2009
Hate crime law includes sexual orientation and gender identity		Since 1995 for sexual orientation and since 2009 for gender identity
Same-sex unions
Same-sex marriages		Since 2004
Recognition of same-sex couples		Since 1992
Adoption and children
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples		Since 2000
Joint adoption by same-sex couples		Since 2004
Access to IVF for lesbians and automatic parenthood for both spouses after birth		Since 2004
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples		Illegal for heterosexual couples as well
Military service
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military		Since 1974
Transgender rights
Right to change legal gender		Since 1989, no surgery required since 2009
Transgender identity declassified as an illness		Since 1989
Ability to change legal gender without a psychiatric or psychological evaluation		Since 2017
Ability to change legal gender without court approval		Since 2017
Ability to change legal gender for minors	/	Parental consent required
Third legal gender		Since 2022
Other
LGBT sex education and relationships taught in schools		Sex and relationships education compulsory in schools
Conversion therapy banned on minors		Since 2018
Homosexuality declassified as an illness		Since 1974
MSMs allowed to donate blood	/	12-month deferral period, unless in a monogamous relationship