On Wednesday President Andrej Kiska asked the Constitutional Court to look into the proposal of a referendum on protecting the traditional family that he received last week.
A group of non-governmental associations calling themselves the Family Alliance gathered about 400,000 signatures on a petition calling for a referendum to decide on whether same sex couples can get equal rights as heterosexuals, including the adoption of children and on the exclusive right of parents to decide on the sexual and ethical education of their children. The group has been supported by the Catholic, Orthodox and Evangelical Churches. A number of legal experts have asserted that some of the questions included in the proposed referendum concern fundamental rights and freedoms, which shouldn't be subject to referenda. Article 27 of the Slovak Constitution states that: “Any petition must not call for the infringement of fundamental rights and freedoms.” Ombudswoman Jana Dubovcova has also voiced her concern over the wording of the questions which encourage open discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The Family Alliance, however, argue that neither the registered partnership of same-sex couples, nor adoption of children by homosexual couples are fundamental rights. They expressed their disappointment that the President does not keep his promise made before the presidential elections in March to link such a referendum to one of the elections.
