New NATO hopeful Ukraine, may be legalising same-sex marriage after enough signatures were gained for the president to consider the proposal. Kiev’s Pride parade in 2019 incidentally was the largest event of the kind that the country had seen.
The petition has more than 28 000 signatures, which means that President Zelensky now has 10 days to respond, the BBC reported. Petitions in Ukraine that gather more than 25 000 signatures automatically trigger the president’s consideration.
It is not clear how same-sex marriages and civil partnerships will contribute the the dire situation in the country. According to the British Financial Times, “Ukraine’s international partners are sounding the alarm about the mounting pressure on Kiev’s public finances,” since the war has destroyed its tax revenue while allies struggle to provide financial support. The report suggests that without aid, there is no way in which Ukraine could win the war.
Somehow the country is more concerned about particular problems for LGBT people. Perhaps it is because “under Ukrainian law if someone in a same-sex relationship dies, their partner cannot collect their body or bury them,” as the BBC lamented.
The online petition curiously stated: “At this time, every day can be the last.” It appears that signatories are well under the impression that they are fighting a losing battle.
“It is important that LGBTQ people have the right to see their partner and take their body from the morgue, and seek compensation if needed,” Oksana Solonska, spokesperson for Kiev Pride, told the BBC.
In a poll conducted by the Kiev International Institute of Sociology in May, over the past six years, the number of Ukrainians who had a “negative view” of the LGBTQ community has decreased from almost halved from over 60 percent.