Wednesday, October 9, 2002

A story published today by the Prague Post reports that Michaela Penickova and her partner, Olga Mavridisova, 44, say that until they have the same rights as heterosexuals, they will be second-class citizens in the Czech Republic.

"Officially, we are nothing," Mavridisova says.

Domestic partners want the government to recognize the validity of their relationship by passing a same-sex domestic partnership law. But there is virtually no chance that lawmakers will adopt such a measure in the next four years.

Although the ruling Social Democratic Party (CSSD) officially supports a domestic partnership law, its junior partner in the coalition government -- the conservative Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) -- strongly opposes it.

"We just don't want this to reach the family status because we consider family the basis of society and the environment for upbringing children," said Josef Janecek, a KDU-CSL deputy.

"It might discredit the family if the law is passed. We are not against same-sex partners living together, but on the other hand, we have to support family standards."

The proposed law would create procedures for registering and dissolving same-sex partnerships. It would allow a partner to become a beneficiary if his or her partner dies, making the surviving partner eligible to collect inheritances and social benefits that went to the deceased partner.

Partnership bills have failed three times in Parliament.

The law was proposed and rejected in 1998 and 1999. When the Chamber of Deputies voted on it in 1999, it lost 91-69, with 13 abstentions. A block of 20 deputies from the KDU-CSL voted against it, joined by 26 Civic Democrats (ODS) and about one-third of the CSSD's 74 members.

Last year, the Cabinet approved a draft of a new law that was sponsored by the CSSD. A final version was submitted to the Chamber of Deputies in October 2001. The chamber voted 85-60 to return the bill to the government for a revision.