Gay Marriage - Moscow?

Lobbying and legal challenges in pursuit of gay marriage are cropping up regularly in all parts of the world - some of them unexpected and unlikely. These include the coming of full family equality in Argentina last year, and the progression to equality by legislative means currently underway in Nepal and Albania. Lobbying activity is being reported from the rest of South America and Serbia. On the legal front, a Russian lesbian couple has turned to the courts for ensure legal recognition for their marriage: < style="font: normal normal normal 140%/normal Georgia, serif; line-height: 26px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; text-align: justify;">  <

Gay Marriage Suit Filed

The European Court of Human Rights has accepted a lawsuit by a Russian lesbian couple who challenged authorities’ refusal to register their marriage, Interfax reported Tuesday.

Irina Fet and Irina Shipitko have married in Canada, with the Russian Embassy approving their marriage certificate. But a Moscow registry office refused to register the marriage, and courts upheld this decision in 2009, prompting the couple to file a suit in the Strasbourg court, gay rights activist Nikolai Alexeyev said.

Fet and Shipitko will probably have to wait several years before their lawsuit is reviewed, Alexeyev said.

(MT)