Polish capital makes history with the first same-sex marriage registration

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland’s capital, Warsaw, registered its first same-sex marriage on Thursday, implementing court rulings that require the country to recognize same-sex marriages registered abroad.

The European Union’s highest court in November ordered Poland to register same-sex marriages that were entered into in other EU countries even if Polish law does not currently permit them. In March, Poland’s Supreme Administrative Court cited that ruling in ordering authorities to recognize the marriage in Germany of two Polish men.

“This morning we issued the first transcription of a marriage certificate for a same-sex couple, in accordance with the court rulings,” Warsaw Mayor Rafał Trzaskowski announced.

The mayor also promised his city would proactively recognize other Polish same-sex marriages registered elsewhere in the EU even without a specific court ruling.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Tuesday that his government would find ways to implement the rulings as soon as possible, and, addressing same-sex couples, apologized "to all those who, for many years, felt rejected and humiliated.”

Tusk appealed to Polish officials, regardless of their personal opinions, “to respect the dignity of each individual and to remember that these people live around us, among us, near us, and that they deserve the same feelings of respect, dignity and love as any other person.”

LGBTQ+ individuals for decades have been fighting for equal rights in Poland, where same-sex marriage and civil partnerships are illegal. None of the rulings mean that Poland is obliged to legalize same-sex marriage.

Tusk's government came to power with a promise to legalize civil unions for same-sex couples. However, resistance from conservatives within his own governing coalition as well as opposition from President Karol Nawrocki, a staunch Catholic, have stalled the efforts.