Prague’s Chamber of Deputies has stopped short of legalising same-sex marriage and gay adoption Wednesday after a coalition of right-wing parties successfully inserted amendments to a bill that would have put homosexual relationships on par with heterosexual ones.
Czech progressives had originally hoped that the country would become the latest EU country, after Greece earlier this month, to legalise gay marriage. A bill to that effect, backed by the liberal ANO party, failed to win over Christian Democrats and MPs from the ruling conservative ODS party.
The bill, as passed by the lower house, would give homosexual couples in Czechia equal treatment when it comes to pensions and property ownership but not give them the right to adopt children or marry. The amended law angered liberal NGOs within the country. Specifically, conservatives were able to change the wording of the bill from “marriage” to “partnerships” after even liberal MPs admitted there was “insufficient consensus” in the chamber for pushing through the bill in its original wording.
Many right-wingers expressed concern about a hostile LGBT agenda spreading through Czech society. Regardless, conservative MPs were content with their decision. Centre-right MP Šimon Heller declared before Wednesday’s vote,
A family is a man, a woman, and children. And it is within this context that we will vote. I am convinced that marriage is a question between a man and a woman. That is why I will support the amendment … which straightens out all property rights for homosexual couples, but at the same time does not cross the two red lines for me.
Same-sex partnerships were originally given partial recognition in the Czech Republic in 2006. A bill that would grant equal status was resurrected after the 2021 parliamentary elections that seated a five-party coalition government of liberals and the centre-right, led by the conservative Civic Democratic Party (ODS).
The agreement to water down formal same-sex marriage can be seen as an attempt by right-wing parties, like ODS, to assert their parliamentary influence. The amended bill now moves to the Senate for approval.
While progressives maintain that the ultimate goal of same-sex recognition will be reached eventually, some in Brussels speculate that failure to legalise gay marriage may impact the reputation of the ANO party in the progressive Renew group.
According to polls, a majority of Czechs support gay marriage. The Czech government was publicly reprimanded by Hungary in April of last year over its attempts to force Budapest’s hands over changing its stance on LGBT issues and the family.
