Recognition of same-sex unions in Lithuania
Same-sex marriages are not legal in Lithuania, with the Civil Code defining marriage as a voluntary agreement between a man and a woman. Moreover, there is an additional article in the Civil Code that explicitly bans same-sex marriages. Nevertheless, a drive to amend the constitution to ban same-sex marriages was reportedly under way in December 2005 by a conservative member of the parliament, who has begun to start collecting signatures for such amendment. Julius Sabatauskas, chairman of the parliament's Legal Committee, however, denounced the plan and said it was unneeded. Some MPs say Lithuania's constitution already bans same-sex marriage. The constitution reads "Marriage shall be concluded upon the free mutual consent of man and woman." The actual effect of this statement is unknown and it has yet to be challenged in court.
On 25 March 2015, 9 members of the parliament from the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Movement introduced the partnership bill.[1][2] Prime Minister and the leader of the Social Democratic Party Algirdas Butkevičius expressed his opposition to the bill.[3] On 6 May 2015, the Committee on Legal Affairs announced that they could find no constitutional barriers to same sex civil partnerships in the Baltic State.[4]
See also
- LGBT rights in Lithuania
- Marriage, unions and partnerships by country
- Recognition of same-sex unions in Europe
References
- "Lithuania could follow in Latvia’s footsteps on banning gay marriage" The Baltic Times, December 24, 2005
- ↑ 9 MPs register bill on same-sex partnership
- ↑ Civilinio kodekso 3.1, 3.3, 3.16, 3.140, 3.150, 3.194, 3.229, 3.230, 3.231, 3.234, 3.235 straipsnių ir III knygos III dalies ir VI skyriaus pavadinimų pakeitimo, Kodekso papildymo 3.230(1) ir 3.230(2) straipsniais, bei 3.232 ir 3.233 straipsnių pripažinimo netekusiais galios
- ↑ PM against legalisation of same-sex partnerships
- ↑ Lithuanian parliament committee: ‘constitution no barrier to gay civil partnerships’