A large majority of Slovak lawmakers on
Wednesday voted for a constitutional amendment limiting marriage to
heterosexual couples.
According to gay weekly the Washington
Blade, 102 parliamentarians supported the amendment, with
only 18 voting against it in the 150-member parliament.
The amendment was drafted by leftist
Prime Minister Robert Fico's ruling Direction-Social Democracy party.
“The marriage amendment will not
bring about any drastic changes, it only seals in the constitution
what is already defined by law,” said
Fico.
Slovakia is the latest European nation
to approved a same-sex marriage ban in recent years.
Last year, Croatian
voters approved a similar constitutional ban at the polls.
Lawmakers responded by approving a civil unions law for gay couples.
A new constitution in Hungary, which took effect in 2012, also
defines marriage as only between a man and a woman.