PM urges support for gay marriages bill

Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek has called on Social Democratic Party MPs to support a bill on same sex registered partnerships which will be presented to parliament next week. The bill which would enable gays and lesbians to enter into a form of marriage has been rejected by Parliament several times in the past, failing to get approved by just one vote on the previous occasion. Although opinion surveys suggest that the public is liberal minded with respect to homosexuals and would support gay marriages, the Christian Democratic Party remains strongly opposed. Likewise some deputies for the Civic Democratic Party and the Communists claim that registered same sex partnerships would undermine the institution of marriage in society.