LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) – Slovenians held a referendum Sunday on whether to allow same-sex marriage and become the first former communist nation in Europe to do so.
The vote was forced by conservative groups, backed by the Catholic Church, who seek to overturn a bill that defines marriage as a union between two consenting adults rather than a man and a woman.
The left-leaning Parliament in the small EU state passed a marriage equality amendment in March, but the “Children are At Stake” group has collected 40,000 signatures to challenge the changes before any gay couples were able to marry.
Metka Zevnik, a prominent activist from the group, said that with Christmas approaching, she expected Slovenians to support traditional values.
“Today is a beautiful day … Christmas lies ahead, Christmas Eve too, when Christians gather before the Nativity scene to honor the holy family and the birth of Jesus,” Zevnik said.