In 2010 the marriage of Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, the former Prime Minister of Iceland, and Jónína Leósdóttir, a journalist and a writer, generated media attention all around the world. After all, in addition to being the first out gay head of state in the world, Jóhanna was also Iceland’s first female Prime Minister. The couple met
Tag Archive: same sex couples
On March 3d, 2016 Vilnius County Court rejected the appeal, filed by the Lithuanian author Neringa Dangvydė, regarding the decision of the District Court of Vilnius City that the publisher of the fairytale book “Gintarinė širdis” (“Amber heart”), the Lithuanian University of Educational Sciences, had the right to suspend the distribution of the publication, and
Italy has finally begun debating a bill to allow same-sex couples to enter civil unions. The debate began on the 14th of October, 2015 on the long-awaited bill, which has the support of Premier Matteo Renzi. Although the debate began this week, campaigners are not holding their breath as the issue is a contentious one,
On September 17th, 2015, the autumn work agenda of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania was approved and contains a long list of initiatives seeking to limit LGBT* rights. Firstly, there is the infamous amendment to the Law on the Fundamentals of Protection of the Rights of Child of the Republic of Lithuania, prohibiting
On October 14th, 2015 the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania rejected a bill on registered partnership that had been drafted by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania and proposed to introduce the institution of registered partnership for different-sex couples. 27 members of the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania voted in
On September 15th, 2015 the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania placed an amendment to the Law on the Fundamentals of Protection of the Rights of Child of the Republic of Lithuania, prohibiting an “adoption of Lithuanian citizens by same-sex couples”, on its agenda for the autumn’s session. The legislative motion was introduced by a
“I represent traditional families, but I am not against partnership, as partnership is not same-sex marriage, partnership defines property relations,” the Speaker of the Lithuanian Parliament Seimas Loreta Graužinienė claimed on the 17th of June, 2015 when asked about her opinion on registered partnership for same-sex couples. Speaking about cohabitation of persons of the same
Final adjustments to a bill on registered partnership, drafted by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Lithuania, are being made with the Catholic Church, and the document would shortly be submitted to the government for deliberation, Prime Minister of the Republic of Lithuania Algirdas Butkevičius admitted on the 16th of June, 2015. “We
Justice Minister’s Opposition Violates European Norms (Berlin, June 11, 2015) – The Lithuanian justice minister’s blanket rejection of a gender neutral bill to allow civil partnerships contravenes European standards, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Justice Minister Juozas Bernatonis released today. The minister was reacting to a proposed civil partnership bill by nine
Speaking during a discussion at the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania on June 3rd, the only openly gay member of the Lithuanian Parliament and the Conservative Party Rokas Žilinskas insisted that the adoption of the Partnership Act, proposed by nine members of the Parliament from the Social Democratic and the Liberal Movement parties would