Poland Again Rejects Civil Unions

By a vote of 215-146, Polish lawmakers have rejected placing a civil unions bill on the agenda for the coming legislative session.  Nearly 100 legislators reportedly abstained or refused to vote. This is the fourth consecutive year that such an action was rejected. The 2013 attempt to pass a civil partnerships bill failed to advance by 17 votes. The head of the Campaign Against Homophobia today said, "We are lied to by politicians – mostly conservative – who say that Poland is not ready for civil partnerships, let alone same-sex marriage."

RELATED: The European Union currently has 28 members. Same-sex marriage is legal in twelve of them: Belgium, Denmark, Finland (effective 2017), France, Ireland (effective later this year) Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia (effective date pending), Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (except Northern Ireland.)  Civil unions are legal in seven EU nations: Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia (effective 2016), Germany, Hungary, and Malta. No partnership recognitions exist in nine EU nations: Bulgaria, Cyprus*, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.  (*A civil unions bill advanced in Cyprus early this month.)