Montenegro legalises same-sex relationship

Montenegro, The Balkan country in Europe just legalized same-sex civil partnership. It is the first European country outside the European Union to legally recognize same-sex relationship. The law is expected to come in to force next year.

The law was welcomed by the LGBTQ⁺ community in the country. The voices from the community stated that they were not expecting the Montenegro government to pass the law and that it was an extraordinary move and it marks a big day for the LGBT community.

The law will give the same legal rights to the same-sex couples as the straight ones. But, however same-sex couples will not have the right adopt. Montenegro has been a predominantly conservative society where LGBT communities have often faced harassment.

The country of Montenegro has been trying to pass this law for a while now, but has been defeated multiple times. The bill was first rejected in August 2019 after being met with strong resistance by the Serbian Orthodox Church, the largest religious community in the country. Finally, this year the government had only 5 opposition votes in the parliament and it was passed.

The country’s Prime Minister, Dusko Markovic said, “A great step in the right direction for (Montenegro) society, its democratic maturity and integration processes.” The Country’s President Milo Dukanovic tweeted that they were now “one step closer to joining the most developed world democracies.”

Reports state that the law was passed in terms to make Montenegro more LGBTQ⁺ friendly in attempts to join the European Union. Montenegro isn’t the only Balkan state moving toward acceptance of LGBTQ⁺ people, parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina are also taking steps to make same-sex relationship legal.