From: [email-masked] (Bjoern Skolander)

470 Wedding Officiators Refuse to Register Swedish Same-Sex Couples

470 of the local wedding officiators in Sweden are not entitled to register
same-sex couples. It is likely that the vast majority of these persons have
actively declined to be authorised as partnership officiators. The total
number of wedding officiators in the municipalities is 1104. 575 of these
are entitled to officiate at both weddings and partnerships, 470 are only
wedding officiators, and 59 only partnerships officiators. 21 out of 288
townships and municipalities lack partnership officiators, 8 out of which
also lack wedding officiators. In these numbers the officiators at the
district courts are not included. 

Partnerships can be registered at all district courts or by specific
partnership officiators usually at local town halls. As the district courts
are only available during office hours, the partnership officiators play an
important role for same-sex couples possibilities to register their
partnerships at a time of their own choice, for exampel at weekends.

According to Swedish law two separate appointments are needed for a person
to officiate at both weddings and registered partnerships.
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Partly translated by Bjoern Skolander <[email-masked]>

SOURCE:
News from Swedish Lesbian/Gay Politics
Published by the Swedish Federation for Gay and Lesbian Rights (RFSL)
No. 6/1997 (March 20-April 10, 1997)