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Slovenia has become the first country in Eastern Europe to legalize same-sex marriage and the adoption of minor children by same-sex couples.
After considerable debate Tuesday in the Slovenian Parliament, 48 lawmakers passed legislation that guarantees the rights of same-sex couples to marry. Twenty-nine MPs opposed the legislation, while one abstained.
This past July, the country’s Constitutional Court in a 6-3 ruling found a Slovenian law that granted rights to only opposite-sex marriages and adoptions violated a constitutional prohibition against discrimination. The court ordered the Parliament to amend the law within six months to guarantee that all marriages and adoptions would be equal in the eyes of the law.
At the time of the high court’s ruling; Labor, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities Minister Luka Mesec said: “The Constitutional Court has ordered us to do it, and we will do it with the greatest pleasure.”
Most of Slovenia’s Eastern European neighbors do not allow civil unions or same-sex marriages.
The government of Estonia came the closest in 2016 by agreeing to recognize same-sex unions created in other countries. Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Montenegro have laws establishing same-sex civil partnerships — and in Hungary, even talking about homosexuality in front of minors has been punishable by a fine since summer 2021, euronews noted.
“With these changes, we are recognizing the rights of same-sex couples that they should have had for a long time,” Slovenian State Secretary Simon Maljevac told MPs when presenting the amendment.
The main opposition party, the Slovenian Democratic Party, criticized the court’s decision and organized several rallies against the new law.
“The best father will never replace a mother and vice versa,” said SDS parliamentary group chair Alenka Jeraj prior to the debate and vote.
