Posted on by Randy Slovacek

Ukraine Could Legalize Same-Sex Civil Partnerships

President
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has opened the door to legalizing same-sex civil partnerships in the country, in response to a petition that called for same-sex marriage to provide legal protections for partners of LGBTQ soldiers.

More from CNN:

In a written reply online, Zelensky explained that it would be impossible to legalize same-sex marriages while the country remained at war, because it would require a change to the constitution.

But he said his government had “worked out solutions regarding the legalization of registered civil partnership in Ukraine as part of the work on establishing and ensuring human rights and freedoms.”

The call to introduce same-sex marriage in the country has been accelerated by the war, due to the number of LGBTQ+ people serving in the military and the greater legal protections that married civilians have.

As I previously reported, Ukraine currently has no legal status for same-sex couples. As such, partners of gay soldiers lack the right to visit in the hospital, share property ownership, care for a deceased partner’s children, collect survivor death benefits, or even be able to claim the body of a fallen partner killed in war.

The Constitution of Ukraine, which defines marriage being “based on the free consent of a woman and a man,” prohibits amending its language during times of war.

In his response, Zelenskyy added, “The Constitution of Ukraine cannot be changed during a martial law or a state of emergency (Article 157 of the Constitution of Ukraine).”