Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine may allow civil partnerships

“Tens of thousands of queer Ukrainians defending our country during this genocide made this possible. Centuries of our anti-colonial struggle against Russian patriarchal and homophobic tyranny made this possible.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

“All people are free and equal in their dignity and rights,”

With these words, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky indicated his desire to address the legal status of same-sex partnerships, and potentially same-sex marriages, in Ukraine when the country’s martial law period is over.

In addressing an official petition to his office, covering the question of the legalization of same-sex marriages, Zelensky explained that while Article 51 of the constitution of Ukraine states that, “marriage is based on the free consent of a woman and a man” and that the Constitution of Ukraine cannot be changed during the ongoing war for liberty with Russia, he directed the nation’s prime minister to look into the matter.

In his response, the president also noted that “In the modern world, the level of a democratic society is measured, among other things, through state policy aimed at ensuring equal rights for all citizens.”

Furthermore, Zelensky pointed out that his country’s family code didn’t specify gender in a definition that partially reads, “A family consists of individuals who live together, are connected by common life, and have mutual rights and obligations.”

While Zelensky centered the majority of his focus on the legal avenues of queer relationships, Ukrainian writer and thought-leader Maksym Eristravi, a gay man who commands a Twitter following of over 80,000 and co-hosts the internationally popular podcast Ukrainian Spaces, brought a human take as to what this means to Ukraine’s LGBTQ community and…

Read full story, and more, from Source: Volodymyr Zelensky says Ukraine may allow civil partnerships