Same-sex marriage in Lithuania

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Same-sex marriage
Performed nationwide in
Netherlands (2001) Belgium (2003) Spain (2005) Canada (2005) South Africa (2006)
Performed statewide in
Massachusetts, USA (2004)
Foreign same-sex marriage recognized in
Israel (2006)
Debate in other countries and regions
Aruba Australia Austria China Estonia France Ireland Italy Latvia (no debate) Lithuania New Zealand Portugal Romania Sweden Taiwan United Kingdom United States: CA, CT, MD, NY, NJ, OR, WA
See also
Civil union Registered partnership Domestic partnership Timeline of same-sex marriage Listings by country
This box: view • talk • edit

Same-sex marriages are not legal in Lithuania, with the Civil Code defining marriage as a voluntary agreement between a man and a woman. Nevertheless, a drive to amend the constitution to ban same-sex marriages was reportedly under way in December 2005 by a conservative member of the parliament, who has begun to start collecting signatures for such amendment. Julius Sabatauskas, chairman of the parliament's Legal Committee, however, denounced the plan and said it was unneeded. Some MPs say Lithuania's constitution already bans same-sex marriage. The constitution reads "Marriage shall be concluded upon the free mutual consent of man and woman." The actual effect of this statement is unknown and it has yet to be challenged in court.