Lawmaker submits draft law providing legal rights to same-sex couples

Lawmaker Inna Sovsun, who is part of the Holos political faction, announced on March 7 that she had submitted a draft law on the registration of same-sex couples, said to be read in parliament in the next five days.

Neither same-sex marriages nor civil partnerships are currently not recognized by Ukrainian law. However, given the number of soldiers identifying as part of the LGBT community that are fighting in the war, many lawmakers are recognizing the importance of granting legal rights to such couples.

In her announcement, Sovsun shared the testimonies of several couples who worry that they will not have the ability to visit their partners in the hospital if they are injured on the battlefield or to bury them if they are killed.

"I am convinced that as a society, we have to correct a great injustice where some citizens have fewer rights than all others," Sovsun said.

According to Sovsun, 56% of Ukrainians agree that LGBT couples should have the right to civil partnerships. She added that homophobia in Ukrainian society was a remnant of Russian and Soviet influence that needed to be discarded.

If the draft law is supported by the Verkhovna Rada, same-sex couples will have mutual rights and obligations as heterosexual couples when it comes to property ownership, inheritance, social protection, and rights in case of the death or disappearance of a partner serving in the armed forces.

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The Kyiv Independent