Czech lawmakers approve more rights for same-sex couples, just not marriage

[Jessica_Rose]

Czech lawmakers approve more rights for same-sex couples, just not marriage

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/czech-lawmakers-approve-more-rights-for-same-sex-couples-just-not-marriage/ar-BB1j3GtP?ocid=windirect&cvid=6e3deff8e83042a38c279e3975faf753&ei=23

Story by Reuters (28 Feb 2024)

PRAGUE (Reuters) - The Czech lower house on Wednesday agreed to give more rights to same-sex couples in a civil partnership, but disappointed campaigners by stopping short of calling their union a marriage or allowing joint adoption.

The Czech Republic allows same-sex couples to register their unions, but this status does not let them adopt children jointly, own property together or receive widows' and widowers' pensions.

More than half of European Union states allow same-sex marriages, but there is widespread resistance in eastern countries that were under communist rule for decades, where many say it must remain the preserve of heterosexual couples.

After months of sharp debate, a scaled-backed version of the bill made it through Wednesday's vote.

"The existing registered partnership institution is not satisfactory," one of the bill's sponsors, Josef Bernard, said in the debate. "It should be expanded, on that there is agreement in the lower house."

An opinion poll from the CVVM agency last year indicated that 58% of Czechs believed same-sex couples should have the right to marry, and even more said they should be allowed to adopt.

Under the revised bill, joint adoption will be possible only if one of the partners is a biological parent.