2024-04-16 11:58:11
Ignas Vēgėlė, a lawyer aspiring for the position of head of the country, emphasizes that a family can be considered a marriage between a man and a woman.
“I agree with the doctrine of the Constitutional Court that the family is between a man and a woman arising from marriage. And from the second element – when there is a child: it is a mother with a child, a father with a child and so on. These are the two bases when it is possible to talk about family legal relations”, said I. Vēgėlė in the presidential candidate debate organized by Elta.
“Talking about other things means admitting something that is not in reality,” the politician emphasized.
The candidate of the Labor Party in the presidential elections, Andrius Mazuronis, thinks similarly. According to him, both the law on partnership and the law on civil union are trying to change the constitutional formulations of the concept of family.
“In my opinion, an attempt is being made to change certain constitutional wordings. And same-sex partnerships are tried to fit the concept of family or the definition of family. And the initiators of this law are starting to say that the main purpose of this law (…) is some kind of economic issues. (…) But Mr. Žalim will probably agree that those economic relations can be regulated by other laws, legal acts, and not by the law on civil partnership”, emphasized the candidate.
“If there is no political will in the parliament or there are not so many votes, it is obvious that the public support for this issue is also appropriate, which is expressed during the elections. And the society does not support the decision of this issue”, said A. Mazuronis.
Eduardas Vaitkus, a self-nominated candidate for the post of the head of the country, did not support the interpretation of the CT that same-sex couples can also be considered a family.
“I do not agree, because I understand that the Constitution says otherwise. And I understand that the Constitution was adopted by the people of Lithuania. Without legal education, having only a sober mind and an understanding of what one or another word means,” he explained his position.
However, the candidate of the Freedom Party in the presidential elections, the former chairman of the Constitutional Court, Dainius Žalimas, took a different position.
“The nation authorized the Constitutional Court to interpret the Constitution, the nation established the Constitutional Court. The nation authorized it officially and, I emphasize, it must be explained to everyone. Everything that is being discussed now is, from a legal point of view, an outsider’s position,” D. Žalimas referred to the opponents’ statements during the years of debate.
“The legal reality is that today, according to the Constitution, same-sex couples are also understood as family. But, by the way, I emphasize that the Constitution, like the European Convention on Human Rights, can evolve in its development by interpreting it. The European Court of Human Rights has very clearly indicated that the family relations of same-sex couples must be legally recognized in the state. There can be no discrimination here,” emphasized the politician, hoping that this issue will be resolved in the near future.
In its ruling in 2019, the Supreme Court clarified that the family is gender neutral.
2024-04-16 11:58:11