Slovenia To Hold Marriage Equality Referendum Next Month

In March of this year, Slovenia's parliament voted to redefine marriage as a "a union between two consenting adults." However, opponents, led by the Catholic Church, filed a petition for the law to be scrapped, which made its way to the Eastern European country's constitutional court. Last month, the court called for a public referendum to be held, and the Slovenian parliament voted yesterday to allow the vote to go ahead next month. 

Gay Star News reports that lawmakers sought to avoid the referendum, arguing that marriage was a basic right and therefore not the subject to public opinion. In order for the vote to hold power, at least 20% of eligible voters must turn out. While Ireland offers an example of how well a public referendum can go, the conservative nature of the nation of roughly two million lends activist cause for concern. The vote is slated for December 20.