Lithuanian president says he is against demands to let homosexuals adopt children

  • 2021-09-02
  • BNS/TBT Staff

VILNIUS – Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has said he is against the demands to let homosexuals adopt children or to teach LGBT history in schools, which have been put forward by organizers of Kaunas Pride march.

“I am against such demands and I think that they won’t be met in Lithuania. As the president, I will do my best so that such demands could not be met at this time.” he told reporters on Thursday.

He also said that such changes would require amending the Constitution.

“We have the Constitution and, when quoting its provisions, we should also quote its Article 38, which, for instance, defines a marriage very clearly. There is a single very good, decent way if we want to change our certain fundamental matters enshrined in the Constitution – it is necessary amend the Constitution instead of pretending that it does not exist,” Nauseda said.

LGBTQ+ representatives on Thursday handed their list of demands to Viktorija Cmilyte-Nielsen, the speaker of the Lithuanian parliament.

The list contains 14 points, including the demands to ensure the right to marriage, partnership and adoption, regardless of gender; to give social guarantees and services to everyone without discrimination based on family status; to legalize “dignified” sex change procedures; to amend the Law on the Protection of Minors against the Detrimental Effect of Public Information, “which is used as a basis to censor information about LGBTQ+ community”.

The list also calls for the protection of LGBTQ+ people against discrimination at work and in other areas of public life, for the simplification of the issuance of personal documents following a sex change, and for teaching about the LGBTQ+ community and various orientations, sexual identities and expressions in schools, colleges and universities.

In addition, the list calls to ensure access to qualified psychological assistance for all Lithuania’s people and to make sure that healthcare services are provided without discrimination based on gender identity, sexual orientation or gender expression.

The list also includes demands to use legislative means to ban conversion therapy, a practice aimed at changing sexual orientation, and fight against hate crimes.