T. V. Raskevičius. Same Sex Families – Reality or Propaganda?

National LGBT rights organization’s LGL human rights policy coordinator, Tomas Vytautas Raskevičius: “In order to avoid any misinterpretations of the presented arguments I want to underline two facts. First of all, according to Article 38 of The Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania “Marriage shall be concluded upon the free mutual consent of man and

Lithuanian constitutional amendment condemned by Council of Europe

Yoomi Renström: “Lithuanian constitutional amendment proposal to ban same-sex couples from the concept of family life is a step back from Europe’s promise to protect the rights of LGBT people.” Congress rapporteur for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT), Yoomi Renström (Sweden), condemned the vote taken in June in the Lithuanian

Five homophobic and transphobic law projects in the Parliament agenda

On 15th of March Lithuanian Parliament confirmed their new agenda which lists 5 initiatives seeking to restrict LGBT* persons’ human rights once again. The proposal to change article 38 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania is of discriminatory nature and first registered at Seimas by the end of the year 2013. This amendment

Lithuanian Parliament to Vote on Russian Style “Anti-Gay Propaganda” Law Again

On November 10th, 2015 at 11 AM the notorious “anti-gay propaganda” bill unexpectedly appeared on the Lithuanian Parliament’s agenda again. The consideration of the draft amendment to the Code of Administrative Violations No. XIP-4490(3), which seeks to introduce administrative liability for any public denigration of the “constitutional family values” was postponed until the final hearing

Irish president signs same-sex marriage amendment

Irish President Michael Higgins on Saturday officially signed an amendment to his country’s constitution that extends marriage rights to same-sex couples in his country.Higgins amended the Irish Constitution roughly three months after Ireland became the first country in the world in which same-sex couples received marriage rights through a popular vote. The Irish Times reported

Gender-based harassment is now legal in Lithuania?

On 15 July 2014 the Lithuanian Parliament has passed the controversial amendment to the Law of the Republic of Lithuania on Equal Opportunities for Men and Women, which will legalize gender-based harassment. 83 MPs voted in favor of passing the law, while 13 MPs abstained, thus outnumbering 2 MPs who voted against the proposal. MP

The General Rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people Robert Biedron has urged the Lithuanian Parliament to reject a change in the law which could impose administrative fines on those demonstrating publicly in support of LGBT rights, describing the proposed

The draft amendment to the Code of Administrative Violations, proposed by MP P. Gražulis, seeks to introduce administrative liability for any public defiance of the constitutionally established family values. According to this amendment, actions considered as defying traditional family values will result in administrative fine ranging from 1000 to 6000 LTL (300-1800 EUR). The draft

Chair of the Lithuanian Parliament Loreta Graužinienė and Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevičius presented the tasks for the spring session of the Parliament on Monday, March 10th. Four homophobic bills and amendments to the existing laws are scheduled for the session. At the spring session the parliamentarians will consider the amendment to the Code of Administrative

Despite the international pressure and concern, tomorrow (13 March) Lithuanian Parliament will vote on the draft amendment to the Code of Administrative Violations No. XIP-4490(3) which seeks to introduce administrative liability for any public defiance of the constitutionally established family values. According to the proposal, such actions as carrying out public speeches, demonstrating goods, posters,