From July 2024, lesbians and gays in Latvia will be able to legally protect their relationships. Parliament approved the change in the law with a narrow majority. However, the new regulation does not mean equality with marriage.
Gay and lesbian couples can register their partnership officially in Latvia from July 2024. The parliament of the Baltic EU country in Riga passed several changes to the law that enable homosexuals to legally protect their relationships.
However, the new regulations do not mean equality with marriage. This was incorporated into the law as a finding at the request of an opposition MP. The Latvian constitution also explicitly stipulates marriage as a union between a man and a woman.
Homosexuality remains a taboo topic
After a sometimes heated debate, a narrow majority of the 100 MPs in the Saeima parliament voted for the controversial regulations in Latvia, which are also intended to offer same-sex couples a minimum of legal and social protection. Homosexuality is still often a taboo topic in Latvia and is met with reservations.
In this year’s Rainbow Europe ranking by the organization ILGA Europe, the Baltic state in northeastern Europe came in 37th place. The legal situation for LGBTQ people within the EU was only worse in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.