Austria's top court declares same-sex marriage legal

Austria's Constitutional Court has announced that same-sex couples will be able to marry beginning in 2019, after it ruled that a law upholding traditional marriage was "discriminatory."

The ruling came after two women in a registered civil partnership filed a lawsuit after authorities in Vienna did not allow them to marry.

Since 2010, same-sex couples in Austria have been able to enter into "registered partnerships" with almost the same rights as married couples. However, the court held that "the distinction between marriage and registered partnership ... cannot be upheld in this day and age without discriminating against same-sex couples."

"The resulting discriminatory effect is seen in the fact that through the different title of the family status, people living in same-sex partnerships have to disclose their sexual orientation even in situations in which it is not, and must not be, relevant and ... are highly likely to be discriminated against," the court stated in its ruling, according to Deutsche Welle.

The court stated that the restrictions on same-sex marriage will be lifted at the end of 2018 unless the government decides to remove it before that time.

The ruling further noted that the words "two people of different sex" will be removed from the law on marriage, and it will keep civil partnerships as an option for both gay and straight couples.

"Today is a truly historic day," said lawyer Helmut Graupner, who represented the two female plaintiffs in court.

"Austria is the first European country to recognize marriage equality for same-gender couples as a fundamental human right. All the other European states with marriage equality introduced it (just) the political way," Graupner wrote on Facebook, as reported by Reuters.

The conservative People's Party (OVP), which voted against same-sex marriage in parliament a few months ago, has indicated that it will accept the court ruling.

However, the decision was met with criticism from the far-right Freedom Party (FPO), which also voted against gay marriage. "Now there is equal treatment for something that's not equal," said FPO General Secretary Herbert Kickl, adding that marriage between men and women needs to be protected as only such partnerships can create children.

The OVP's leader Sebastian Kurz is expected to be sworn in as chancellor next month, and he has chosen the FPO to be part of Austria's incoming coalition government.

Prior to the ruling, Austria's Catholic Bishops' Conference issued a statement last month saying marriage should be exclusively for couples of the opposite sex because of the unique nature of complementary relationships compared to "other forms of coexistence."