GAY MARRIAGE FOR LUXEMBOURG

Is Luxembourg set to become the world’s most gay friendly country? The small European nation, which is already led by an openly gay prime minister, is planning to legalise same-sex marriage later this year.

The President of Luxembourg’s Parliamentary Committee on Justice, Viviane Loschetter, has told RTL that a same-sex marriage bill is a priority for the government.

She said that the bill, which has been in limbo since 2009, is expected to be become law before the country’s summer holidays.

If it is passed by parliament, it will grant same-sex couples full marriage equality as well as adoption rights to gays and lesbians.

In December, Luxembourg became the third country in the world to have an openly gay head, namely Prime Minister Xavier Bettel. (Iceland and Belgium were first and second.)

Bettel (40), who often attends official functions with his partner Destenay Gauthier, promised to legalise same-sex marriage as part of his election campaign.

The country’s Deputy Prime Minister, Etienne Schneider, is also openly gay; a world first.

Luxembourg is a small landlocked country in western Europe, with a population of around 524,853 people. An April 2013 survey found that 83% of its citizens supported same-sex marriage rights while 55% backed same-sex adoption

If it legalises same-sex marriage, Luxembourg will become the 11th European country to do so.