Croatia to hold a referendum aiming to rule out same-sex marriage
Croatia, the newest country to join the EU, is set to hold a referendum on whether to allow same-sex marriages later this year.
More than 700,000 people signed the recent petition to change the constitution to define marriage as “the lifelong union of a woman and a man.”
Associated Press reports that Parliament on Friday voted to hold a ballot held on December 1 with the question:”Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman?”
If a majority vote “yes” in the referendum, the Croatian constitution will be amended to block same-sex marriages.
While currently Croatia does not allow same-sex marriages, many conservatives fear it could become possible after it was announced last year that the Social Democratic Party would be considering same-sex “domestic partnerships.”
Zeljko Reiner of the main conservative HDZ party said: “It is simply the question of safety that something… which is a basis of the Croatian society does not change.”
Gay rights activists have condemned the referendum as discriminatory, saying it infringes on basic human rights.
Activist Sanja Juras said: “This is undoubtedly a human rights issue and as such it cannot be put to a referendum.”
Under Croatian law, a referendum does not require a majority voter turnout to be valid, meaning a small number of voters would be enough to block same-sex marriages.
