Posts Tagged As: Croatia

Croatia gets first civil union

Timothy Kincaid

September 6th, 2014

Croatian coast

Last December, the populace of Croatia, a very Catholic nation, voted to limit marriage to opposite sex couples. But in July the legislature passed a bill creating civil unions, providing same sex couples with nearly all the same rights as marriage.

Now the first such civil union has been conducted. (rtl)

Le premier couple gay s’est uni en Croatie en vertu d’une loi adoptée à la mi-juillet qui aligne les droits des unions homosexuelles et hétérosexuelles, sauf en matière d’adoption des enfants, a annoncé un groupe de défense des droits des homosexuels.

“Ce soir, une page de l’histoire a été écrite à Zagreb (…) la première union civile a été conclue”, a annoncé tard vendredi 5 septembre le groupe de défense des droits des homosexuels Pride sur sa page Facebook. “Bonne chance et meilleurs voeux aux mariés”, a ajouté Pride sans fournir de précisions, à l’exception d’une photocopie partielle du document scellant l’union.

Google Translate:

The first gay couple is united in Croatia under a law passed in mid-July that aligns the rights of homosexual and heterosexual , except in the Adoption of Children, said a group of Advocacy homosexuals.

“Tonight, a page of history was written in Zagreb (…) the first civil union was completed,” announced late Friday, 5 September the advocacy group for gay rights Pride on his Facebook page . ” Good luck and best wishes to the married , “he added without elaborating Pride, with the exception of a partial photocopy of sealing the union.

Croatia passes partnership law

Timothy Kincaid

July 15th, 2014

Croatian coast
Things have been a bit of a roller coaster for the gay citizens of Croatia, the nation comprising much of the coastline across the Adriatic Sea from Italy.

Last July Croatia joined the European Union, after passing a non-discrimination law. Almost immediately, a government commission proposed a referendum to ban marriage equality. And in December 2013, the electorate declared their support for discrimination by a two-thirds vote (though with a very low voter turnout).

But later that month the government proposed a ‘life partnership’ registry, and now that legislation has passed. (Ansamed)

La Croazia si è unita oggi ai Paesi che riconoscono le unioni civili tra le coppie dello stesso sesso, garantendo alle coppie gay e lesbiche tutti i diritti delle coppie sposate, con l’eccezione dell’adozione dei figli, e definendo queste unioni come una forma di vita famigliare.

Il Parlamento di Zagabria ha approvato oggi con 89 voti a favore, giunti dai banchi dei partiti di centro-sinistra e liberali che formano la coalizione di governo la Legge sulle unioni civili tra le coppie omosessuali, modellata in maggior parte su quella tedesca. Contro hanno votato 16 deputati di destra e centro-destra, che non si oppongono alla necessità di regolare le coppie omosessuali, ma considerano questa legge troppo liberale.

Google Translate:

Croatia has today joined the countries that recognize civil unions between same-sex couples, granting gay and lesbian couples all the rights of married couples, with the exception of the adoption of children, and defining these unions as a form of family life.

The Parliament in Zagreb today approved with 89 votes in favor, came from the banks of the parties of the center-left and liberals who form the ruling coalition the Law on civil unions between same-sex couples, modeled in most of the German. 16 deputies voted against right-wing and center-right, which is not opposed to the need to regulate same-sex couples, but consider this law too liberal.

One of the complications which the community had faced was a Constitutional requirement that the State ‘protect the family’. Lawmakers got around that problem by defining life partnerships to be a form of family.

Croatian government proposes partnership registry

Timothy Kincaid

December 21st, 2013

Croatia began the month with a But the government is proposing that a parnership registry with many of the rights of marriage be adopted. (GayStarNews)

The government has presented ‘life partnership’ legislation today (12 December), allowing same-sex couples to officially register their relationship, inherit property from one another, and represent each other as next of kin.

They will be banned from marrying or adopting children.

With the government’s legislative majority, it means the bill is likely to pass.

The ‘protect marriage’ crowd who crowed three weeks ago will conveniently miss this move.

Croatia bans gay marriage

Timothy Kincaid

December 1st, 2013

In an entirely expected move, the citizens of Croatia have voted to deny civil equality to their gay neighbors and relatives. (Guardian)

A majority of Croatians have voted in a referendum to ban gay marriages in what is a major victory for the Catholic Church-backed conservatives in the European Union’s newest nation.

The state electoral commission, citing initial results, said 65% of those who voted answered “yes” to the referendum question: “Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman?” About 34% voted against.

Croatia to Vote on Same-Sex Marriage Ban

Jim Burroway

October 25th, 2013

Croatia officially joined the European Union on July 1 after a lengthy process which included, among many things, close scrutiny of Croatia’s human rights record. Croatia adopted a law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in order to meet one of the conditions of EU membership. But now, a Croatian governmental commission has decided to take an opposite tack:

Croatia will hold a referendum on Dec. 1 to consider changes to the country’s constitution that would ban same-sex marriage, a parliamentary commission decided on Wednesday.

The commission voted 10-3 to hold a referendum on whether to constitutionally define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Croatia currently has minimal partnership protections in the form of “cohabitation agreements.”

J. Lester Feder at Buzzfeed reports that if the proposal passes in December, the proposed constitutional amendment would then go back to Parliament for a final vote before becoming official. “In theory,” Feder writes, “the Croatian people could vote to ban same-sex marriage and the parliament could then veto their decision.”

News of the vote came as top human rights officials from the U.S. and Europe were gathering for a meeting of the International Gay and Lesbian Association’s (IGLA) European branch in the Croatian capital of Zagreb. Croatia’s foreign minister Vesna Pusić seems to have been caught off guard, telling the conference that “We have a lot of uphill struggles ahead of us, one pretty close ahead of us.”

A very well protected Pride in Split

Timothy Kincaid

June 12th, 2012

Split, on the beautiful Adriatic coast in Croatia, had a Pride Parade over the weekend (AJC)

Riot police watched on as several hundred people, including some government ministers, marched unhindered through the Croatian town of Split on Saturday, many carrying flags and banners reading “Gay is OK” and “We are all equal.”

As treatment of a country’s gay citizens is being seen more and more as a defining characteristic for countries with European sensibilities, and as Croatia wishes to join the European Union next year, the government viewed a safe and successful Pride Parade as being politically necessary. They were serious.

The crowd walked along a route that was fenced off by the police, while a helicopter flew overhead and a water cannon was parked nearby.

The police were delighted to report no incidents of violence and the Minister for Foreign Affairs made statements in support of the event.

Zagreb Pride

Timothy Kincaid

June 23rd, 2010

The Pride Parade in Croatia seems to have gone off without much problem. Yes, the neo-Nazis protested (they seem not to have read Scott Lively’s Pink Swastika), but riot police were on hand to protect the marchers. Check out some great pictures and commentary here.

Guess Who Else Isn’t On Board With the U.N. Resolution to Decriminalize Homosexuality

Jim Burroway

December 5th, 2008

Mark, at Slapped Upside the Head, has a good take on yesterday’s news that the Vatican is opposing a U.N. resolution calling on member states to rescind laws outlawing homosexuality — which in some countries includes the death penalty. We discussed the Vatican’s intrinsically disordered logic here. Mark has his own take here.

There are a lot of countries which have already signed on to the declaration, including: Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Mexico, Uruguay, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Iceland, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, Ukraine, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

Those last three are rather surprising. Also surprising co-sponsors are three African countries: Gabon, Cape Verde and Guinea-Bissau. That’s quite an impressive list.

So, who’s missing? Well, let’s see. Oh look: the United States and Australia.

Marriage Rights Around the World

Timothy Kincaid

May 15th, 2008

The following countries offer some form of recognition to same-sex couples:

Marriage

Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, United States (Massachusetts, California)

Civil Unions

New Zealand, Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul), Argentina (Buenos Aires, Rio Negro), Mexico (Coahuila), Uruguay, United States (Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey)

Registered Partnership or Domestic Partnership

Denmark, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Finland, Luxembourg, , Slovenia, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Italy (City of Padua), Switzerland, Hungary, Australia (Tasmania), United States (Maine, Washington, Oregon)

Other Methods of Limited Recognition

France (PACS), Germany (Life Partnership), Croatia (Law of Same-Sex Relationships), Andorra (Stable Union of a Couple), Mexico (Mexico City – PACS), Colombia (Common-law marriage inheritance rights), Israel (Limited recognition of foreign legal arrangements), United States (Hawaii – Reciprocal Benefits; New York – recognition of out-of-state legal marriages)

Although recognition is in a rapid state of change, this is my best understanding of the current rights provided. Several nations are in the process of adding or revising recognition.

    

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