Bosnia’s Religions Unite Against Gay Marriages

Sarajevo's first gay festival ended in violence last year

The law in question is a draft law on the prevention of discrimination in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which has been already adopted in the first reading in Bosnia’s House of Representatives.

If the law is adopted in both houses of Parliament in the second reading without amendments, it will enable guy couples to legally marry and adopt children, Emir Kovacevic, the religion commission’s legal expert told media.

Officials close to the Commission told Balkan Insight on Wednesday that they had proposed several amendments to the draft law, but that none of them had been included in the end.

The Inter-Religions Council was established after the 1992-95 war in an effort to promote better cooperation among the main ethnic groups and their representatives in the country. Until now, however, the Council has rarely been able to agree on any concrete actions and often has been blocked by internal boycotts.

The law in question is one of the key conditions for Bosnia to win visa-free regime status with EU countries.

“We were aware that the proposed law will trigger a hail of complaints from the religious communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but its adoption is a priority,” media quoted Zoran Koprivica, from Bosnian Parliament’s Human Rights Commission, as saying.

“The truth is that the law does not specify any rights for the gay population, but that can be read between the lines. We are aware that because of our traditions and customs, this law will raise a huge storm. But if we fail to adopt it, we will completely distance ourselves from Europe,” Koprivica said.