Leftist Prime Minister says ready to back constitutional
amendment drafted by Christian Democracts. Slovakia's leftist prime minister
said Tuesday he was ready to back a constitutional amendment defining marriage
as a union between man and woman, effectively closing the door to same-sex
marriage.
The opposition Christian Democrats and other center-right
parties drafted the amendment that will need support from Prime Minister Robert
Fico's Smer social democrats for the two-thirds majority required to change the
constitution.
The European Union's newest member Croatia outlawed same-sex
marriage in a referendum last year, triggering a similar constitutional
amendment.
Slovak law defines marriage as a "union between a man
and a woman".
No form of same-sex civil union is legal in Slovakia, where
more than 70 percent of the population of 5.4 million is Christian, according
to a 2011 census.
But a 2012 opinion poll showed that 47 percent of Slovaks
supported civil unions for same-sex couples while 38 percent were opposed.
Parliament will debate the amendment during a session
starting on March 18.
Same-sex marriage is legal in a handful of the 27 other EU
states including Britain and France, while civil unions are notably recognized
by the Czech Republic, Germany and others.
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