SLOVENIA: Same-Sex Marriage Becomes Legal Today

Reuters reports:

Slovenia permitted same-sex marriages for the first time from Friday under a law giving gay couples largely the same rights as heterosexuals though barring them from jointly adopting children. The head of the unit in charge of weddings in Slovenia’s second largest city Maribor, Ksenija Klampfer, told Reuters the first lesbian wedding would take place there on Saturday.

“We are very happy and proud that we will perform the first same-sex wedding. We believe that such marriages are an important step towards formation of an inclusive society where people have equal rights,” Klampfer said.

A number of other European Union states have legally recognised same-sex marriages, including Britain, France and Spain, but the issue remains contentious in many other EU countries. The law was passed ten months ago after a December 2015 referendum rejected a draft which would also have given gay couples the right to adopt children.

The successful December 2015 public referendum to block the adoption-inclusive bill was supported by Pope Francis and its approval was loudly celebrated by US hate group leaders including Brian Brown. (Tipped by JMG reader Tine)

UPDATE: More from Pink News.

Ksenija Klampfer, who administers weddings in Maribor, said the first lesbian ceremony was set to take place on Saturday. “We are very happy and proud that we will perform the first same-sex wedding,” she said.

“We believe that such marriages are an important step towards the formation of an inclusive society where people have equal rights.” As yet, no weddings are scheduled to take place in the capital.

LGBT rights advocates have praised the introduction of marriage equality, but say more still has to be done. “This is a big step forward,” said Lana Gobec, spokeswoman for the Legebitra LGBT rights campaigning group. “But we will continue to strive for complete equality of heterosexual and same-sex couples.”