Czech lawmakers reject marriage equality bill
The lower house of the Czech Parliament rejected a bid to allow same-sex marriage in the Central European country Wednesday afternoon, instead passing a compromise bill that expand the rights of same-sex couples in registered partnerships and allow them to adopt each other’s biological stepchildren.
The bill heads to the Senate, where some senators have vowed to continue fighting for full equality. Czechia has allowed same-sex couples to form registered partnerships since 2006, but these accorded limited rights compared to marriage.
Notably, same-sex couples were barred from adoption, and were not allowed a widow’s pension or joint property rights. Lawmakers were debating a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage, as well as a set of proposed amendments that would have instead expanded the rights of couples in registered partnerships.
While a parliamentary committee had recommended that lawmakers vote on the proposals from the most expansive to the least expansive, Parliament instead reversed that order.
