Social Democrats still rallying support for gay marriages bill

Efforts by the Social Democratic party leadership to convince party deputies to vote in favour of a bill which would legalize gay marriage in the Czech Republic have not been entirely successful. Prime Minister Jiri Paroubek, who has been pushing hard for the bill's approval, said on Tuesday that several of his party deputies remained adamantly against it and that they would be left to vote according to their conscience. Meanwhile, the party has been seeking supporters for the bill across the political spectrum. Following President Klaus' veto of the bill last week, it would need to gain 101 votes in the Lower House in order to become law.