For the first time in Lithuania’s history, three same-sex couples are going to court to defend their right to start a family and register their marriage in Lithuania. According to the Association of Tolerant Youth, which initiated these strategic cases, they aim to resolve the main obstacles in recognizing and regulating these couples’ relationships. “When

Amicus Brief Submitted in Relu-Adrian Coman and Others v. Romania

While Lithuania still remains among 6 European Union states that do not provide a gender-neutral Partnership alternative, National LGBTI Rights Organization LGL together with the international partners from the Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria continue to consolidate their efforts towards establishing a higher standard of protection within the regulation of the European Convention on Human

On April 1, 2001, just a few seconds after midnight, Mayor of Amsterdam was the first registrar in the world to marry a gay couple. That night four same-sex couples tied the knot, followed by another 382 who married in the same month. Currently sixteen European countries fully recognize same-sex marriages, while thirteen recognize a

National LGBT rights organization LGL in partnership with ACCEPT (Romania), Mladejka  LGBT organizatsiya deystvie (Bulgaria), Hatter Tarsasag (Hungary) and International LGBTI Associaction ILGA Europe starts a new project JUST EU: equality and justice for LGBTI citizens though strategic litigation. The goal of the project is to identify and prioritize the legal obstacles faced by LGBTI citizens

Lithuania must issue a residence permit to a foreigner, who entered into the same-sex marriage with a citizen of Lithuania in another state, in this way partially recognizing marriages concluded by homosexual individuals abroad. This judgement was pronounced by the Constitutional Court of the Lithuanian Republic (Constitutional Court) on the January  11, 2019 Nevertheless, what

Eurobarometer reveals a lack of LGBTI acceptance in the Baltics

According to Eurobarometer on Discrimination 2019, 30% Lithuanians are in favor of same-sex marriages to be allowed throughout the Europe, while in neighboring Latvia even less, 24% respondents support the same notion. Numbers concerning this question are significantly higher in Estonia and even Catholic-majority Poland, 41% and 45% respondents respectively agree that same sex marriages should be

Kick-off Meeting for the Project „R.I.S.E“ took place in Bratislava

On 9 September,  2019 representatives of  the National LGBT rights organization LGL, organized a kick-off meeting for the project “R.I.S.E: Raising awareness for Inclusive Societies to Embrace rainbow families in Europe” that took place in Bratislava, Slovakia. LGBT rights advocacy organizations from Latvia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania and Slovakia, led by LGL, have joined their efforts in order to

Countries without same-sex marriage saw rise in homophobia, study shows

European countries that do not legally recognize same-sex relationships, including Lithuania, have seen a rise in homophobia over the last 14 years, a new study by Hungarian researchers suggests. The study, co-authored by Judit Takacs of the Hungarian Academy of Science, shows that, by contrast, acceptance of gay and lesbian relationships increased in countries that

Why Doesn’t Northern Ireland Have Equal Marriage Yet?

Northern Ireland is increasingly isolated in western Europe by banning same-sex marriage. What exactly is going on? It has been four years since England and Wales approved equal marriage, and three years since Scotland followed suit. Equal marriage has since spread across Western Europe – with France, Germany and Luxembourg also passing legislation in recent years

Chilean President to Introduce Same-sex Marriage Bill on Aug. 28

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet next week will formally introduce a bill that will extend marriage to same-sex couples. The Movement for Homosexual Integration and Liberation, a Chilean LGBT advocacy group, in a press release said Bachelet will introduce the measure on Aug. 28. The group in 2012 filed a lawsuit with the Inter-American Commission on