Georgian President blocks referendum on constitutional gay marriage ban
The Georgian President has shot down a proposed referendum on a new constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
A petition calling for the referendum in the country had gathered 200,000 signatures.
However, in a press conference this week, Georgian President Giorgi Margvelashvili flatly rejected the proposal to hold a referendum that would constitutionally define marriage as a union of one man and one woman.
According to Georgia Today, the Georgian leader said that the amendment would be unnecessary as the Georgia’s Civil Code already defines marriage as “a voluntary union of a man and woman”.
Before the press conference, an official said: “They (pro-referendum activists) chose the language of confrontation and blackmail and refused consultations, which clearly reveals that this group has narrow political objective.”
Same-sex marriage is still not permitted in the country.
According to JoeMyGod, plans for a referendum in the European country were backed by US-based evangelical groups including World Congress Of Families, led by Brian Brown of the US-based National Organisation for Marriage.
The World Congress of Families has been accused in the past of exploiting influence in developing countries to institute anti-gay laws around the world.
