SLOVENIA: Marriage Repeal Vote Set For Dec. 20th

Yesterday Slovenian lawmakers set December 20th for the national referendum to repeal same-sex marriage. Last month anti-gay groups colluded with the local Catholic Church to convince Slovenia’s Constitutional Court that a vote on repealing same-sex marriage did not violate a recently instituted ban on any public votes on human rights issues. Earlier this year Slovenia’s Parliament voted against a repeal referendum, citing that ban. Under Slovenian law, any group that gathers 40,000 signatures within a month’s time can put forward a referendum motion. At least 20% of Slovenia’s two million voters must participate in the referendum for its result to become valid. Anti-gay groups across the globe are surely watching Slovenia.

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 this month), Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, 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 Iceland did the same in 2010.