A new law currently before the Lithuanian parliament could be amended to ban the "promotion" of gay, lesbian or bisexual relationships to children. The Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effects of Public Information Bill will be debated by MPs later this year and its supporters argue that the "propagation" amendment does not contradict anti-discrimination laws. The Eastern European country's parliamentarians claim that the still unclear definition of "propagation" of relationships outside of heterosexual marriage has "negative consequences for the physical, mental and, first and foremost, moral development of minors." Ann von Below of the Lithuanian Gay League, an LGBT organisation active since 1994, told PinkNews.co.uk: "The sad fact that supporters of the new bill claim that it doesn't contradict anti-discrimination laws, suggests that either the concept of discrimination has been grossly misunderstood by some Lithuanian politicians, or there is a fundamentally undemocratic current running in the Lithuanian parliament. "Either way, the recent development could result in a tragic step backwards for the development of Lithuanian democracy." Margarita Jankauskaite, project manager for the Centre of Equality Advancement and ambassador for the European Commission Campaign "For Diversity, Against Discrimination," claims that the proposed amendment is contradictory to the legislation and the values of the European Union. Lithuania joined the European Union in 2004. That year the age of consent for homosexual sex was lowered from 18 to 14 to bring it in line with the age of consent for heterosexual sex. In February a poll of members of the Lithuanian parliament revealed that over half of them agree that homosexuality is a perversion. Many of the MPs who agreed with the Church validated their beliefs by asserting that homosexuality is either an illness or a mental disability. A poll last December found that only 17% of Lithuanians support gay marriage. Ref: Pinknews.co.uk (m)
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Friday, 14th September 2007 - 11:11am