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A new rule preventing the promotion of lesbian and gay marriage came into force in Lithuania on 1 March.

The European Union member courted controversy last year with the ‘Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information’, which had originally prevented the promotion of homosexuality altogether. Criticism from a range of international bodies, including the European Parliament, saw the bill amended in December to a ban on “encouraging the sexual abuse of minors, sexual relations between minors and other sexual relations.”

The latter category includes a ban on campaigning for pro-lesbian and gay marriage legislation, since the new law outlaws any material that “encourages a concept of marriage and family other than stipulated in the Constitution and the Civil Code of the Republic of Lithuania.” In the constitution, marriage is defined as being between a man and a woman only.

The human rights campaign group Amnesty International is calling on the Lithuanian government to scrap the clause relating to LGBT people. Spokesman John Dalhuisen describes the new law as an “anachronism” in the EU, and says it “will stigmatise gay and lesbian people and exposes advocates for their rights to the risk of censorship and financial penalties.”

Posted in: Campaigns & Politics |