SLOVENIA: Haters To Begin Petition Drive To Force Repeal Vote On Marriage

Anti-gay factions in Slovenia are about to begin collecting signatures to force a referendum on repealing same-sex marriage.

President of the National Assembly Milan Brglez announced that the collection of signatures for referendum on amendment of the Bill on Marriage Union and Family Relations will start on March 23, and end on April 26. Request to call a referendum can be filed by at least 40,000 voters no later than within seven days from the expiry of the time limit for collection of signatures. If the request is filed, a referendum must be called by the National Assembly. The members of parliament can demand a constitutional court opinion when they believe that a stay of implementation of an amendment, or rejection of an amendment might cause unconstitutional consequences.

Two years ago the Slovene constitution was amended to ban any referendums on human rights. The ultimate outcome could depend on whether Slovenia's Constitutional Court rules that marriage is a human right, as it was declared to be last week by the European Union Parliament.