Danish homosexuals will soon be allowed to marry in the state Evangelical Lutheran Church, Denmark’s gender equality and ecclesiastical affairs ministry said Wednesday.

“The Danish government has decided that same-sex couples are to be able to marry in church on equal terms with heterosexual couples, and that they will be able to call themselves spouses,” the ministry said in a statement.

The ministry will submit a bill to parliament on the issue soon.

“We expect to celebrate the first marriage next summer,” Ellen Aagaard Petersen, a journalist with the protestant church’s official newspaper, told AFP, adding that the vote in parliament and implementation of the law would take about six months.

“All members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark must have the opportunity to be married in church regardless of their sexual orientation,” the ministry statement said.

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