Politics
Friday December 2, 2005
See today's LifeSiteNews stories
Latvian Parliament Overwhelmingly Supports Constitutional Protection for Traditional Marriage
Implemented to prevent possibility of US and Canadian type activist judge decisions
By Terry Vanderheyden
RIGA, December 2, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - An overwhelming majority of Latvian legislators confirmed a proposal to enshrine the traditional definition of marriage in the country's constitution yesterday.
Seventy-three of the 100-member parliament ratified the measure; a two-thirds majority is necessary to effect a change to the country's constitution. Although same-sex "marriage" is already prohibited by law in Latvia, a change to the constitution assures the law will be less likely to be amended by an activist court - a real worry in light of events in Canada and the US.
The constitutional amendment proposition came after an activist court ruled in July that a banned Riga gay-pride parade could go forward. Pressured by the government and Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis, Riga reversed an earlier decision to allow the parade. The day before the parade, Riga District Administrative Court ruled the ban illegal.
Approximately 50 homosexual-rights activists showed up for the march; the small contingent was dwarfed by thousands of protestors. Following the parade, the combined efforts of members from the Lutheran and Catholic churches urged the constitutional amendment, supported by the Prime Minister's First Party of Latvia.
Latvian Cardinal Janis Pujats warned in August that homosexual militancy is more dangerous than the militancy experienced by the war-torn country in Soviet times. "In Soviet times we faced atheism, which oppressed religion; now we have an era of sexual atheism," he said. "This form of atheism is even more infectious and dangerous, spiritual values disappear in a swamp of sexual irregularity."
See related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Latvian Cardinal Warns Gay Militancy More Dangerous than Soviet Times
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/aug/05081609.html
Back to TopSHARE THIS STORY: E-mail Print Newsvine Digg Reddit Del.icio.us Facebook
Latest Headlines
- Fr. Neuhaus 1936-2009 - Like The Star of Bethlehem, Dies After Leading So Many to Christ
- Canadian Law Prohibiting Polygamy Faces Challenge
- Pope: "Today More Than in the Past, Our Future is at Stake"
- Co-Creator of the Pill Laments Resulting Demographic "Horror Scenario"
- 23-Week Old British Premie Spared Abortion, Goes Home with Family
- Spanish Judge Convicted of "Homophobia" for Not Approving Adoption by Lesbian Partner
- Announcement of Fr. Neuhaus' Death This Morning
- Campbell's Soup Runs Ads Depicting Homosexual “Family”
- Only 19% of Catholic Students in Calgary Receive Controversial HPV Vaccine
- Porn Moguls Seek Bailout Cash
- Doctors Who Refuse Assisted Suicide “Genuinely Wicked” says UK Bioethics “Philosopher Queen”
- President Bush Urges Republicans to Defend Culture of Life
- Terri Schiavo’s Brother Responds after Obama Appoints Lawyer Who Helped Kill Terri to High Position
- By the Numbers: The Ten Most Popular LifeSiteNews.com Stories of 2008
Most Read this Week
- Vatican Newspaper Publishes Article Detailing Birth Control Pill as Cause of Abortion and Cancer
- Obama Selects Yet another Pro-Abortion "Catholic" for Leading Office
- NBC Boots Top Conservative Pundit Ann Coulter from Today Show, Quickly Rebooks Following Uproar
- Abortion Group Ipas Defends Abortion Targeting Unborn Girls
- Medical Expert Says that Contraceptive Pill is Causing Global Rise in Male Infertility
- Mother Refuses All Further "Parental" Visits with Daughter by Former Lesbian Partner as Trial Looms
- New Jersey Rules against Christian Group that Declined to Host Lesbian Civil Union Ceremony
- Outspokenly Orthodox, Pro-life Archbishop Takes Over in Vancouver Diocese
- Kissinger on Obama: "The Reception of Him is So Extraordinary Around The World ... a New World Order Can Be Created"
- New Survey Finds Only 9% of Americans Support Unrestricted Abortion
MORE NEWS: 
LifeSiteNews.com Home Page Last 10 Days Archives Special Reports
Copyright © LifeSiteNews.com. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivatives License. You may republish this article or portions of it without request provided the content is not altered and it is clearly attributed to "LifeSiteNews.com". Any website publishing of complete or large portions of original LifeSiteNews articles MUST additionally include a live link to www.LifeSiteNews.com. The link is not required for excerpts. Republishing of articles on LifeSiteNews.com from other sources as noted is subject to the conditions of those sources.