Czech Republic: Support for equal marriage falls sharply

Support for same-sex marriage in the Czech Republic has fallen, bucking the trend from other Western countries.

According to the new poll, support for same-sex marriage has become less popular over the past year, with a 6% fall in support.

Only 45% of people in the country said they support same-sex marriage, down from 51% in 2012 and 2013, and the first time it has found a lack of majority support.

48% of people also said same-sex couples should not be allowed to adopt children, with just 45% in favour.

The only good news in the poll, which was conducted by the CVVM research agency, is that support for the country’s current same-sex civil union scheme is high, with 73% in favour.

Gay people can already adopt children as a single parent in the Czech Republic, but they are not legally allowed to as a couple, with second-parent adoptions also not permitted.

Last year, an Amnesty International report found the country was also ‘lacking protection’ against homophobic and transphobic crime.

A total of 1,390 same-sex couples entered into registered partnerships in the Czech Republic between the law’s uptake in 2006 and 2012.