Romania just took a major step back in gay rights

Romania’s Constitutional Court has taken a huge step back in gay rights after the Orthodox Church was successful in its homophobic campaign. While it currently has protection laws in place for LGBTI people, that could all change after the Constitutional Court has given way to legislation that could lead to same-sex marriage and civil unions

Thursday, June 30th, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in Taddeucci and McCall v Italy, that the refusal to grant one partner in a same-sex couple a residence permit violated their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, particularly Article 14, prohibition of discrimination, taken with Article 8, respect for family life. The

Lithuanian Parliament Urged to Protect the Constitutional Definition of Family

On International Children’s Day, almost eighty nongovernmental organizations urged Lithuanian Parliament members not to change the existing constitutional definition of family, and to develop realistic measures to ensure protection and support for children and families. The NGOs noted that the proposed amendments provide no further benefit to families in Lithuania, but rather the opposite –

Strasbourg Court: family reunification rights also count for same-sex couples

Yesterday, the Strasbourg-based European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that refusing same-sex couples residence permits with the purpose of family reunification on the basis of their sexual orientation is discriminatory. The case was brought to the European Court after Ms Pajić, a woman from Bosnia-Herzegovina, was refused a Croatian residence permit that she requested

Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference: Family Should Be Associated with Marriage

On November 25th, 2015 the Committee on Legal Affairs of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania held a hearing on a proposal to amend the Article 38 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania, which states that “family emanates from a marriage between a man and a woman”. The participants of the hearing,

New rule allows refugees to bring same-sex partners to U.S.

Refugees and asylees from 23 countries can now ask to bring their same-sex partners with them to the U.S., even if they are not legally married.   The State Department’s Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration in an Oct. 1 letter to Congress notes it will “allow a qualifying individual” to request their same-sex partner

Tony Abbott dismisses idea of marriage equality referendum

The Australian Prime Minister has dismissed the idea of his country holding a referendum on same-sex marriage after Ireland’s historic vote on 23 May. Tony Abbott acknowledged it was important to millions of Australians and said he was taking the matter seriously, but marriage equality would be dealt with by the Federal Parliament. ‘Referendums are

Argentina grants birth certificate listing three parents

Buenos Aires has granted a family legal recognition of three parents. A lesbian couple and the biological father of their child have all been listed on the child’s birth certificate, which gives them all legal recognition as parents of the child. According the Registrar of Persons, Claudia Corrado, this is in the best interests of

The Catholic Church in Lithuania is against a group of lawmakers’ proposal to legalize same-sex partnerships in Lithuania, claiming that such a move would “degrade the family concept”, a representative of the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference says. “The law some Seimas members want to legalize would make the moral nature of family relations insignificant for the

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