January 21, 2015
Macedonia Lawmakers Vote to Ban Gay Marriage
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
Lawmakers in Macedonia voted to define marriage in the southeast European country as a union between one man and one woman Tuesday, the European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights reports.
The parliament also created a constitutional obstacle that could affect future legislation involving same-sex civil unions.
The amendment now defines that "[m]arriage shall be a life union solely of one woman and one man" and that "legal relations in marriage, family, and civil unions are to be regulated by a law adopted by a two-thirds majority of the total number of Members of Parliament."
The anti-gay marriage measure was approved by a 72-4 vote but it still needs to go through an additional parliamentary vote and also needs presidential approval before it becomes law.
An earlier draft of the amendment explicitly banned same-sex civil unions.
"Instead of taking the Opinion of the Venice Commission seriously, and guaranteeing equal rights for all couples, the government, supported by parliament, decided to create a constitutional obstacle to even create possible legislation on this issue in the future," said Tanja Fajon MEP, Vice-President of the Intergroup on LGBTI Rights. "Rather than institutionalizing discrimination against same sex couples, I call on the government to increase protection, in line with European standards."
Sophie in't Veld MEP, Vice-President of the Intergroup on LGBTI Rights, added: "In October last year, the LGBTI Support Centre in Skopje was attacked for the zillionth time. LGBTI people in Macedonia face severe stigma and are all too often faced with hate crime, to which authorities fail to react."
"The Macedonian government should realise diversity is the source of prosperity and social stability, not an obstacle for it," she continued. "Inversely, homophobia has never created a single job or indeed solved any other problem. Macedonia would be better served by following the trend of an increasing number of countries in Europe and the Americas where same-sex couples are legally recognized and protected."
