SLOVAKIA: Hate Group Alliance Defending Freedom Lobbies Against LGBT Rights

The Arizona-based Alliance Defending Freedom is taking their battle against LGBT equality to Slovakia.

"The people of Slovakia should have the freedom to preserve marriage and family if they so choose," said Alliance Defending Freedom senior legal counsel Roger Kiska, who filed an amicus brief with the court. "This referendum will allow Slovaks to affirm current Slovak law and important social values, which is perfectly acceptable under the Slovak Constitution." More than 400,000 citizens signed the petition supporting a referendum, according to Roger Kiska—more than the required number of signatures. However, Slovak President Andrej Kiska asked the Constitutional Court to review the measure because of a provision in the country's constitution that forbids holding a referendum to change "fundamental rights and liberties."

Slovakia banned same-sex marriage in June. The proposed referendum backed by the ADF would stiffen that ban to include any recognition of same-sex relationships and ban unmarried people from adopting children.

RELATED: Eight members of the 28-nation European Union have legalized same-sex marriage: Belgium, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (England & Wales). Nine EU members offer civil unions or partnerships: Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, and Slovenia. Eleven EU nations currently offer no recognition of same-sex couples: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.