Lithuanian Gay League asks president to veto amendments to law on equal opportunities

VILNIUS - The Lithuanian Gay League (LGL) said on Wednesday that it had asked President Dalia Grybauskaite to veto the parliament's decision to transpose into national law an EU directive without listing partners as family members.

The amendments to the Law on Equal Opportunities, which were passed by the Seimas on Tuesday, ban discrimination against EU citizens and their family members exercising their right to free movement on grounds of nationality. Only spouses and children under the age of 21 are listed as family members.

The LGL says that the law would allow discrimination in Lithuania against other EU member states' citizens who have registered their partnership.

"Some members of the Seimas are working purposefully to ensure that the rights of the LGBT community are not protected in Lithuania. On the other hand, we must understand that these amendments to the Law on Equal Opportunities primarily concern citizens of our strategic EU partners," Vladimir Simonko, the LGL leader, said in a press release.

"The Lithuanian parliament sends a message that registered partners can be lawfully discriminated against in our country," he added.

The initial bill proposed by the Social Security and Labor Ministry included partners as family members, but the Seimas opposed the wording.

Those in favor of removing partners from the definition of family members say that this is in line with Lithuanian national law, which does not recognize civil partnerships.