Lithuanian lawmakers agree to consider same-sex partnership bill

Move to greenlight further discussion of the proposal comes a year after Lithuania’s parliament voted down a similar piece of legislation.

Lithuania’s parliament has voted to accept a draft bill legalising same-sex civil partnerships for further debate, after voting down a similar bill in May 2021.

Seventy lawmakers voted in favour and 52 against accepting the measure for discussion on Thursday, with several opponents raising questions about whether legalising same-sex partnerships would go against Catholic teachings.

Proponents were mildly encouraged but acknowledged that challenges lay ahead with regard to the passage of the bill in the strongly Catholic country.

“My feelings are mixed after the vote”, Elzbieta Latenaite, an openly bisexual actress and activist, told reporters in parliament.

“On the one hand, the parliament took a step towards Europe, towards Western values...