SLOVENIA: Local Catholic Church Backs Referendum To Repeal Same-Sex Marriage

Back in March, the Slovenian national legislature approved a same-sex marriage bill by a 51-28 vote. The law has not yet gone into effect as anti-gay factions call for a repeal referendum despite a 2013 constitutional amendment which bans any public votes on human rights issues. Slovenia’s Constitutional Court has heard the case but has yet to rule on whether marriage is a human right. Today Gay Star News reports that the local Catholic Church has endorsed the repeal effort, with Archbishop Stanislav Zore (above left) telling the press that opposite marriage is “one of the fundamental truths of our faith.”

RELATED: The European Union currently has 28 members. Same-sex marriage is legal in twelve of them: Belgium, Denmark, Finland (effective 2017), France, Ireland (effective later this year) Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia (effective date pending), Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland.)  Civil unions are legal in seven EU nations: Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia (effective 2016), Germany, Hungary, and Malta. No partnership recognitions exist in nine EU nations: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia. Non-EU member Norway legalized same-sex marriage in 2009. Non-EU member Switzerland legalized registered partnerships in 2007.