The European Union will respond to attempts by any EU member state to ignore EU legislation and treaties defending people’s right to live the life they want to live, European Commission Vice-President, European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding, said in Vilnius on Friday when asked to comment on initiatives by some
News
The LRT Council, i.e. the highest decision-making body of the Lithuanian Radio and Television (LRT), will decide, whether to broadcast the Baltic Pride 2013 Vilnius 2013 March for Equality social advertising campaign on the national television by the end of June 2013, says the TV Managing Director Rimvydas Paleckis. The administration of the LRT has
On 23 May 2013 the Lithuanian Parliament made a first step towards explicitly prohibiting the procedure of gender reassignment in Lithuania by placing the corresponding amendment to the Civil Code on the parliamentary agenda. 36 MPs voted in favor of the proposal, 3 MPs – against and 1 MP abstained (the full voting results can
The results of the EU LGBT Survey, published by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) on 17 May 2013, indicate that 61% of the Lithuanian LGBT* community suffer from discrimination or harassment. According to the survey, it is the highest ratio of hostility towards the local LGBT* community among 27 EU Member States and Croatia.
he Lithuanian Parliament has approved for discussion an amendment to the Civil Code which, if passed, would impose a ban on sex change. The proposed change, which suggests that “medical change of sex is banned in Lithuania,” will now be discussed by parliamentary committees. The current wording of the Civil Code suggest that unmarried adults
Several bills currently under discussion at the Lithuanian parliament that, if passed, would restrict LGBT rights harms the country’s image on the international arena, Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius says. “I think you will agree that Lithuania is not a homophobic country, and everyone trying to depict the situation differently may be trying to harm our
Last Tuesday, the Lithuanian parliament held hearings on two bills related to LGBT rights in the country. As many as 50 MPs (out of 141) supported an initiative by notoriously homophobic politician Petras Gražulis to introduce fines for promoting LGBT rights. Learning about that, Lithuanian showbiz celebrities came out with unprecedented support for the LGBT
On 21 May 2013 the Lithuanian Parliament accepted the amendment to the Code of Administrative Violations by introducing administrative liability for “public denigration of constitutional moral values and of constitutional fundamentals of the family life, as well as organization of public events contravening public morality” (proposed by MP Petras Gražulis) and the amendment to the Law on the Fundamentals of
ILGA-Europe, an LGBTI rights organization, has published its annual review of the situation of LGBTI rights in Europe, noting that while some countries are moving towards marriage equality, others have introduced discriminatory measures like criminalization of “homosexual propaganda”. In its Rainbow Map, ILGA-Europe assesses legal framework affecting LGBTI rights in areas like anti-discrimination policies, recognition
On 17 May 2013 the Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) will officially launch Baltic Pride 2013 promotional videos. The main purpose of these videos is not only to invite everyone to the Baltic Pride 2013 events this July, but also to speak about broader ideas of tolerance and diversity in the Lithuanian society through lively means
On 10 May 2013 the Cahir of the “Order and Justice” political group MP Petras Gražulis introduced a draft law on administrative liability for “denigration of constitutional values”. It seeks to amend the Code of Administrative Violations by introducing administrative liability for “public denigration of constitutional moral values and of constitutional fundamentals of the family life, as well as organization of
On 9 May 2013 Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) submitted a request to the President of the Supreme Court by asking to deal with the Baltic Pride case under accelerated procedure (you can find the full text of the document here). The March for Equality is scheduled on 27 July 2013, i.e. there are less than