Constitutional referendum on same-sex marriage in Slovakia 2015

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Coat of arms of Slovakia

On February 7, 2015, a referendum was held in Slovakia on the ban on same-sex marriage . Critics argued that the referendum was initiated by religious and arch-conservative organizations to prevent expansion of the rights of same-sex couples.

Despite the fact that the conservative groups got the support of Pope Francis and spent 110,000 euros on the campaign, the referendum failed due to a low turnout of 21.4%; 50% would have been necessary.

background

On June 4, 2014, the Slovak parliament passed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage. In December 2013, the conservative organization “Alliance for the Family” started a collection of signatures to enforce a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, adoptions by same-sex couples and registered partnerships, and to enable parents to exempt their children from sex education. In August 2014, she received the necessary 400,000 signatures and handed them over to President Andrej Kiska , who forwarded them to the Constitutional Court to have them checked for their constitutionality. The court ruled that a vote banning registered partnerships for same-sex couples was unconstitutional; the remaining questions are constitutional. On November 27, 2014, the President set February 7, 2015 as the voting date.

ask

The referendum included the following three questions:

1. Is marriage just a connection between a man and a woman?

2. Are you in favor of a ban on adoptions by same-sex couples?

3. Can parents refuse their children's participation in sex education?

campaign

Proponents of the referendum sought, primarily in churches, to encourage people to take part in the referendum, and the Slovak Bishops' Conference raised funds for the campaign. 62% of Slovaks are Catholics and although less than 40% attend church services regularly, Reuters describes Slovakia as "on the surface one of the most religious countries in Europe".

The vote cost more than 6.3 million euros; Conservative groups spent around 110,000 euros on advertising. The Christian-conservative activism platform CitizenGo , which is headed by Brian S. Brown, the American founder of the National Organization for Marriage , supported the referendum.

LGBT groups in Slovakia, smaller and less organized than their opponents, encouraged people not to vote at all for fear that the proportion of “no” voters could push the turnout to over 50%.

Results

Due to the low turnout, the referendum was declared invalid as only 21.4% of voters had taken part in the vote, well below the required minimum quorum of 50%.

question Yes No Invalid Votes cast Eligible voters voter turnout
be right % be right %
Question 1 - marriage 892.719 94.50 39.088 4.13 12,867 944.674 4,411,529 21.41%
Question 2 - adoption 873.224 92.43 52.389 5.54 19,061
Question 3 - Sex Education Class 853.241 90.32 69,349 7.34 22.084
Source: Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic

See also

Homosexuality in Slovakia

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ afp.com: Slovakia-homosexuality referendums: Slovakia: Referendum on the ban on gay marriage fails. In: welt.de . February 8, 2015, accessed October 7, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Slovakia prohibits same-sex marriage . In: queer.de . ( queer.de [accessed April 10, 2018]).
  3. ↑ Slovakia: Catholic Church raises the mood against gay couples . In: queer.de . ( queer.de [accessed April 10, 2018]).
  4. ↑ Teraz.sk: Prezident vyhlásil referendum o ochrane rodiny, booth 7th februára . In: TERAZ.sk . January 1, 1970 ( teraz.sk [accessed April 10, 2018]).
  5. ^ Slovakia's anti-gay referendum . In: Your Site NAME Goes HERE . ( visegradinsight.eu [accessed April 10, 2018]).
  6. ↑ Jan Lopatka: Slovak conservatives seek to bar gay marriage in referendum . In: US ( reuters.com [accessed April 10, 2018]).
  7. ↑ https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20053236/turnout-key-to-referendum-result.html
  8. ↑ http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/brian-browns-citizengo-promoting-anti-lgbt-referendum-in-slovakia/
  9. ↑ http://www.thedaily.sk/anti-gay-referendum-stirring-sentiment/
  10. ↑ Slovakia: Vote against gay marriage failed . ( kurier.at [accessed April 10, 2018]).