Slovenia to hold referendum to block same-sex marriage
A referendum will be held in Slovenia in a bid to block same-sex marriage legislation.
The Central European country’s Parliament passed a bill to legalise same-sex marriage earlier this year, to outcry from parts of the Slovenian public.
Anti-LGBT activists have since gone all-out to block the law defining marriage as a union between two consenting adults.
A group calling themselves ‘Children Are At Stake’ gathered 40,000 signatures needed to call a popular vote.
After a period of uncertainty about the referendum, lawmakers voted in favour of holding it this week, by a vote of 69-11.
The referendum will be held on December 20, meaning that same-sex couples could be suffer an attack on their rights just days before Christmas.
Unlike in countries like Ireland, where same-sex marriage enjoyed popular support in a referendum despite a strong religious culture, the issue is still very divisive in Slovenia.
In a poll earlier this year, just 36% indicated they would support same-sex marriage in a possible referendum, 36% while 50% said they would vote against it.
However, not all polls are consistent on the issue – with an EU poll conducted last month finding that 54% of Slovenians believe same-sex marriage should be permitted, with 40%.
The Vice President of the European Commission recently said he wants all 28 EU countries to recognise or legalise same-sex marriage.
Speaking at an Equality Gala in Brussels hosted by ILGA-Europe, Dutch politician Frans Timmermans said the ultimate goal was to get all states to “unreservedly” embrace equality.
