A majority of Croatians have voted yesterday to outlaw same-sex marriage, in a nationwide referendum. 65% of voters answered "yes" to the question: "Do you agree that marriage is matrimony between a man and a woman?", and only 34% said "no". The fact, only 36% of those who could vote finally did it.
The idea for the vote was introduced by the Catholic group In the Name of the Family, which collected over 750,000 signatures demanding a nationwide vote on gay marriage.
After the referendum, Croatia will have to amend its constitution to define marriage as a “union between a woman and a man”. Currently, the Croatian constitution does not define marriage.
The Social Democrat-left government disagreed with the referendum's demand, but the outcome was no surprise in a conservative country where 90% of the population say they are Catholic.
Croatian Prime Minister Zoran Milanovic called the referendum "sad and pointless", but said the government would pass a bill giving same-sex couples more rights in the coming weeks.
A step back for equality inside the European Union.
Demonstrations by pro-gay activists did not prevent defeat
