Austrian Parliament OKs Gay Civil Unions
ASSOCIATED PRESS: VIENNA — Austria's parliament passed legislation Thursday allowing same-sex couples to enter into civil unions, a move hailed by proponents as a historic win for gay rights in the country.

The bill, slated to become law Jan. 1, will give same-sex couples many of the rights enjoyed by their heterosexual counterparts, including access to a pension if one partner dies and alimony in the event of a split.

"We are living in the 21st century and I'm very glad this step is being taken today," Justice Minister Claudia Bandion-Ortner said during parliamentary debate leading up to the vote.

Christian Hoegl, co-president of the Homosexual Initiative Vienna, Austria's oldest group of gays and lesbians, agreed.

"It's a relief, a big success and a reward for two decades of lobbying," Hoegl said. >>> Veronika Oleksyn (AP) | Thursday, December 10, 2009

Strache: "Homo-Ehe gegen Willen der Österreicher"
DIE PRESSE: Mit den Stimmen von SPÖ, ÖVP sowie einigen Abgeordneten von BZÖ und Grünen hat der Nationalrat das Gesetz zur Eingetragenen Partnerschaft für Homosexuelle beschlossen. Die Debatte war teils emotional.

Mit den Stimmen von SPÖ, ÖVP, sowie je drei Grün- und zwei BZÖ-Stimmen, hat der Nationalrat am Donnerstag das Gesetz beschlossen, das homosexuellen Paaren künftig die Eintragung ihrer Partnerschaft ermöglicht. Während die Wiener Homosexuellen-Initiative mit rosa Punschkrapfen für ein Ja zum Gesetzesentwurf warb, und Justizministerin Claudia Bandion-Ortner einen "großen, historischen Schritt" lobte, ist die Opposition - aus unterschiedlichen Gründen - nicht ganz glücklich über den Entwurf. FPÖ: Geheule des Zeitgeists >>> beba | Donnerstag, 10. Dezember 2009

Austrian Parliament Elects Extreme-Rightist as Its Vice-President
EUROPEAN JEWISH PRESS: VIENNA---The Austrian Jewish community has criticized the election Tuesday by the new Austrian Parliament of an extreme-rightist MP known to be a nostalgic of the Third Reich, as its vice-president, [sic]

Martin Graf, a 48-year-old lawyer, is a member of a student fraternity union called “Olympia” that has contacts with neo-nazis [sic] and Holocaust deniers. He is also an MP from the extreme-right Freedom Party (FPO) [FPÖ] which has made important gains in general elections last month.

70 percent of the members of the Austrian parliament supported Graf’s candidacy, including the mainstream conservative People’s Party (OVP) [ÖVP].

In the last two weeks, former concentration camp inmates, Vienna's Jewish community, artists and other members of the civil society had written several open letters to MPs, asking them not to vote for Graf.

Austrian MPs "made a symbolic decision which can lead to a further strengthening of the right-wing extremist camp and which shows little sensibility for Austrian history and the tragic results of German nationalism," the Vienna Jewish community said.

“The fact that he could be elected vice-president of the Austrian Parliament should light warning signals not only in Austria but all over Europe,” the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Jerusalem said. >>> Joseph Rottenmeier | October 30, 2008

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