Slovenia legalizes marriage equality and family rights for queer people
On Tuesday, October 4 the Slovenian government passed an amendment that allows same-sex couples the right to marry their spouses and adopt children if they so want to. The ruling passed with 48 MPs voting in favor of the amendment, while 29 voted against and 1 abstained. Slovenia is the first country in Eastern Europe to achieve marriage equality for their queer population.
Back in July, the highest court in Slovenia ruled that defining marriage as something that only takes place between a man and a woman discriminated against same-sex couples.
While complete marriage equality has not yet been achieved elsewhere in the region, Estonia does recognize same-sex unions created in other countries, Croatia, the Czech Republic, and Montenegro legally recognize civil unions between same-sex couples. Despite this, neighboring nations such as Hungary still engaged in homophobic practices in legal spaces and criminalizes discussing homosexuality in front of children, which is currently punishable by a fine.
As news about the change in law hit the public, State Secretary Simon Maljevac stated, “With these changes, we are recognising the rights of same-sex couples that they should have had for a long time,”
Many parts of Europe still have a complicated relationship with recognizing same-sex marriage. Several countries in the region still staunchly recognize marriage as being between a man and woman only. These include Armenia, Ukraine, Belarus, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Poland, Georgia, Hungary, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, and Montenegro.
Countries like Italy, Monaco and Greece recognize civil unions, but not complete marriage equality. However, as of July 2022, 18 European nations now recognize marriage equality for same-sex couples. Among them include countries such as Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Norway, Finland and Denmark.
Like many other regions of the world, Europe still has a ways to go. Slovenia forging the way forward for those situated in Eastern Europe is worth a round of applause.
