[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/til-death-do-us-part-surviving-spouse-of-worlds-first-same-sex-union-dies-the-latest-on-marriage-equality-in-new-jersey\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/til-death-do-us-part-surviving-spouse-of-worlds-first-same-sex-union-dies-the-latest-on-marriage-equality-in-new-jersey\/","headline":"‘Til Death Do Us Part: Surviving Spouse of World’s First Same-Sex Union Dies; the Latest on Marriage Equality in New Jersey","name":"‘Til Death Do Us Part: Surviving Spouse of World’s First Same-Sex Union Dies; the Latest on Marriage Equality in New Jersey","description":"By Jason Carson Wilson Eigil and Axel Axgil leaving Copenhagen City Hall on Oct. 1, 1989Photo courtesy of andrejkoymasky.com A man, who entered into the...","datePublished":"2011-10-31","dateModified":"2021-06-21","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/#Person","name":"Equally Wed","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/admin\/","identifier":787,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/ca62cf123aaaf135c80b055249bacbda79de9226e11cdfcde6529bedf89683de?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/worlds-first-married-gay-couple.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/worlds-first-married-gay-couple.jpg","height":343,"width":500},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/til-death-do-us-part-surviving-spouse-of-worlds-first-same-sex-union-dies-the-latest-on-marriage-equality-in-new-jersey\/","about":["Marriage Equality News"],"wordCount":285,"articleBody":" By Jason Carson WilsonEigil and Axel Axgil leaving Copenhagen City Hall on Oct. 1, 1989Photo courtesy of andrejkoymasky.comA man, who entered into the world\u2019s first same-sex union in Denmark, is gone. Axel Axgil, 96, died Saturday in Copenhagen, the Associated Press and Washington Post reported.Axgil, who born as Axel Lundahl-Madsen, helped found LGBT Denmark in 1948. Axgil and partner, Eigil, married Oct. 1, 1989\u2014when Denmark became the first nation to allow civil unions. Eigil Axgil, born Eigil Eskildsen, died in 1995 at age 73.Axel and Eigil combined surnames as a sign of defiance, after serving short prison terms on pornography charges in the 1950s. Axel and Eigil ran a gay modeling agency, which distributed photos of nude men.LGBT Denmark Spokeswoman Vivi Jelstrup said Axgil was, in many ways, a symbol of Denmark\u2019s gay rights struggle. But Jelstrup stressed Axgil didn\u2019t feel like a \u201clonely warrior.\u201d \u201cHe always underscored that there were many involved in the work and that it was a common cause,\u201d she said.NEW JERSEY AND MARRIAGE EQUALITYNew Jersey could be forced to recognize gay marriage. A lawsuit heads to a judge\u2014for the first time. State Superior Judge Linda Feinberg is expected to hear the suit Friday, according to the Associated and nj.com.Seven same-sex couples sued in June, claiming civil unions don’t offer equal protection. N.J. Attorney General Paula Dow believes the gay marriage issue has been resolved.Five years ago, the N.J. Supreme Court ruled that the state must extend all legal rights and benefits to same-sex couples. But,the state wasn\u2019t required to sanction gay marriage.Legislators chose to create civil unions instead.New Jersey photo: Jerry McCrea\/The Star-Ledger\u00a0"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"‘Til Death Do Us Part: Surviving Spouse of World’s First Same-Sex Union Dies; the Latest on Marriage Equality in New Jersey","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/til-death-do-us-part-surviving-spouse-of-worlds-first-same-sex-union-dies-the-latest-on-marriage-equality-in-new-jersey\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]