Speaking to the news website 15min.lt, the politician said on Thursday that the Freedom Party promised to draft the bill on same-sex partnership in 100 days but not that it would be adopted in 100 days since the Freedom Party joined a coalition with the Conservative party and the Liberal Movement in 2020.
According to Armonaitė, the bill on gender-neutral partnership was initially rejected by parliament and now the Freedom Party is striving to secure political support for the law on the civil union, which would regulate relationships between unmarried partners.
Armonaitė was asked to comment if lacking support from other coalition partners for the Freedom Party’s initiative could affect the ruling coalition.
“We do not know what the future may bring. The goal perhaps is not just to be in the coalition for the sake of it. The goal is to bring change, whether it is economics or human rights and their protection. Change is the most important objective. If this coalition can bring change, then let it work. So far, I have hope that we can implement changes. The laws have passed the submission stage, and some members of the Seimas have changed their views,” she said.
At the end of May, parliament approved two civil union bills after the submission stage: one drafted by the ruling coalition and another by a group of MPs, which would introduce the notion of “close ties” between partners.
A year ago, the bill on gender-neutral partnership was rejected in parliament. President Gitanas Nausėda stated at the time that he would have vetoed the law even if it was passed. Yet this June the president implied that he would sign the law on civil union if it established the notion of “close ties” between partners.
