Croatia is at the doorstep of a new era: its inclusion in the EU is only three weeks away. And yet, just like Hungary, it is defying Europe's vision and progressive mores.
The Eastern European country has been under pressure to call for a referendum that could make gay marriage not only illegal but also punishable under the law.
Croatia has always been a conservative state. The great majority of its people are staunch Catholics. The referendum on its face is only supposed to introduce a constitutional clause on the definition of marriage, but the consequences of such an amendment could be dire for the gay population.
While most of Europe is either mulling legislation to legitimize gay marriage or has already done so, some European countries are moving backward, such as Hungary and Croatia, to an era when being gay meant being unprotected and persecuted.
The proposal for the referendum was driven by a Catholic right wing group which has conducted a scorched earth campaign in 'defence of marriage' and family values, and has been able to collect three quarters of a million signatures in a country of only 4 million people.
The Group maintains that they are doing this to protect themselves from legislative measures such as the ones passed in France, which culminated with the passage of a law to legalize same sex marriage, and to 'protect' the country from the kind of unrest that was seen in France.
Croatia, most are agreed, is turning more conservative, not in the sense of restoring certain values such as honesty, transparency, and work ethics, but only towards certain religious and social negative stereotypes that have not been seen since World War II.
The issue however, is that by promoting such an agenda the group is also fomenting homophobic sentiment. The constitution of Croatia furthermore guarantees certain human rights, so that the initiative on principle defies such constitutional values.
The Group also contends that its efforts are not discriminatory but are aimed at curtailing what they see as an increased activity by the government to introduce liberal policies that are in their view morally wrong, such as sex education in school, which has since been terminated.
The larger problem that this initiative poses, is that the referendum does not need an overwhelming majority to pass this amendment, so that if it becomes law, it would make any future proposals to make same sex marriage legally impossible.
Strangely enough, the Croatian government has in the past recognized gay rights to some extent, giving same sex couples the same rights if they live under the same roof, as umarried heterosexual couples, and the recognition of shared assets rights.
Unfortunately such rights do not extend to decisions in medical situations or other similar choices of next of kin, that heterosexuals enjoy.
Source : France / 6.13.13
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