Croatia's vote forbiddg gay marriage: a sign of the rotten heart of Europe | Srećko Horvat | The Guardian

Contents:

• CROATIA'S VOTE FORBIDDG GAY MARRIAGE: A SIGN OF THE ROTTEN HEART OF EUROPE
• CROATIA TO VOTE ON GAY MARRIAGE
• CROATIAN GOVERNMENT TO PURSUE LAW ALLOWG CIVIL UNNS FOR GAY COUPL
• CROATIA TO BAN GAY MARRIAGE FOLLOWG REFERENDUM
• CROATIA VOT ON ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM

CROATIA'S VOTE FORBIDDG GAY MARRIAGE: A SIGN OF THE ROTTEN HEART OF EUROPE

Media ptn, A protter's sign reads "Homosexualy is not a choice, hate is a choice"Croatian voters have backed proposals to ban same-sex marriag a of those who voted approved chang to Croatia's nstutn to fe marriage as a unn between a man and a woman. Saturday saw hundreds of gay rights supporters prott Zagreb.

Attus changgMedia ptn, Croatian Lbian Group: "The ernment never had the tentn of allowg same sex marriag Croatia"Gay rights protters, unr a heavy police prence, marched for an hour through the the pal Zagreb on Saturday and unfurled a giant rabow flag outsi parliament. Corrponnts say attus towards gay rights Croatia - which joed the European Unn July - are slowly Zagreb's first gay pri para 2002, dozens of participants were beaten up by extremists. LONDON (Thomson Rters Foundatn) -A Croatian urt has led that same-sex partners n now adopt children, backg a gay uple their five-year fight for the right to fay life, the ernment said on ’s Admistrative Court led on April 21 that same-sex upl should not face discrimatn state adoptn, the Rabow Fai Associatn (RFA), an LGBT+ group, said on s webse, alongsi a redacted py of the head of the RFA, which fund the se, voiced excement at this latt w for mory rights the small Balkan state.

CROATIA TO VOTE ON GAY MARRIAGE

"Issue divis policiansIf the proposal is passed December, Croatia's nstutn will be amend to ban gay plan for a referendum was allowed parliament scty after a Catholic group lled 'In the Name of the Fay' gathered enough signatur to pass the required thrhold of ptn, Gay rights activists Croatia have lled for same-sex marriag, as here at a march Zagreb MayIt received support om 104 members of Croatia's 151-seat rights groups say they will lodge an appeal agast the referendum, sayg g basic human rights Croatia, which joed the European Unn July. Jt a few days later, 65% of Germans vote agast gay people at a natnal referendum. Those behd the referendums allege that the mol of the Croatian fay is unr threat – on the one hand, if gay people get the right to enter to marriage, and on the other, if Serbs get the right to e their own alphabet Croatia.

CROATIAN GOVERNMENT TO PURSUE LAW ALLOWG CIVIL UNNS FOR GAY COUPL

Yet is the current crisis of palism that is tly stroyg social safety s – the gradual disappearance of a public health service and cuts to pensns are hurtg the fay more than gay people or Serbs. What the Croatian nstutnal referendum on gay rights, and the proposed one on ethnic mory rights, shows isn't only the mise of mocracy and a nservative backlash – is actually a symptom of the rotten heart of Europe, a ntent that is more and more remblg not only the dystopian scenar scribed above, but realisg the worst nightmar of the 20th century. ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) — Croatia moved Friday to hold a referendum on whether to allow gay marriag, but crics say the vote is discrimatory and gay rights groups are challengg s wordg as biased and unnstutnal.

CROATIA TO BAN GAY MARRIAGE FOLLOWG REFERENDUM

” If a majory vote “y, ” Croatia’s nstutn will be amend to specifilly fe marriage as between a man and a woman, a facto ban on gay dispute over gay rights has divid Croatia. The untry has taken steps to improve gay rights, but issu such as same-sex marriage rema highly sensive the stnchly Catholic natn. An anti-gay group, meanwhile, gathered over 700, 000 signatur support of the vote.

Europe|Croatian Government to Pursue Law Allowg Civil Unns for Gay Coupl ADVERTISEMENTDec. 2, 2013PARIS — The Croatian ernment pledged on Monday to prs ahead wh plans for a law allowg civil partnerships for gay people after a majory of Croats voted a referendum to effectively ban same-sex marriage the predomantly Catholic experts said the rult of Sunday’s vote, which eply polarized the untry of 4. While fay law already f marriage as a heterosexual unn, the experts said the referendum’s rult would rerce this fn, makg the legalizg of gay marriage the future extremely difficult, if not impossible.

The oute was a major victory for the Roman Catholic Church, and a blow to gay rights advot. “This referendum was a pre-emptive strike agast the possibily of troducg gay marriage Croatia, ” said Franko Dota, a polil analyst and gay rights activist. “This was a referendum to huiate the gay populatn, and to strike agast the progrs of the past s.

CROATIA VOT ON ANTI-GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM

Analysts said the turnout suggted that the sluggish enomy and 18 percent unemployment rate were more on Croats’ mds than gay referendum pted nservative groups and the church agast the ernment and human rights activists, which see gay rights as an important barometer of Croatia’s social progrs.

“There is a feelg that gay marriage and adoptn by gays was on the agenda, and this vote was an attempt to show that there is strong opposn to this, ” he said. The unn took no official posn on the referendum was anized by a nservative group, In the Name of the Fay, whose supporters said they were ncerned that the legalizatn of gay marriage other European Unn untri like France, Spa and the Netherlands would be foisted upon Croatia.

Dpe the referendum, gay rights groups said attus toward homosexualy were gradually improvg Croatia. In 2002, at the first gay pri para held Zagreb, the pal, several dozen monstrators were beaten by extremists. Eight have adopted full gay marriage.

Five years after a referendum effectively banned gay marriage Croatia, nservativ behd the vote will gather a 5-star Zagreb hotel to mark the anniversary. Gay upl, however, have moved on to a new fight – for the right to foster or adopt children. December 1 marks five years sce Croatia voted a referendum to fe marriage as a unn ‘between a man and a woman’, effectively banng gay marriage the predomantly Catholic natn that only five months earlier had bee the newt member of the European Unn.

Ls than a year after the plebisce, the Life Partnership Act gave gay upl Croatia all the rights enjoyed by married heterosexual upl, wh the exceptn of the right to foster or adopt a child. Some 259 gay upl have sce followed su. While Zidarevic says he and his partner have no plans for children, he noted that a draft Foster Care Act Croatia mak no mentn of gay upl.

The gay rights anisatn Rabow Fay has lled on Croatian MPs to clu same-sex life partners the fal text of the act and th monstrate that “Croatia stands si by si wh unti such as Germany and Ireland treatg their cizens equally. “Love only”, a banner at Gay Pri march Zagreb, Croatia, 10 June 2017.