SLD split over the issue of gay relationships as bill is finalized

The presidium of the Democratic Left Alliance (SLD) Parliamentary Club has decided yesterday to submit a motion to the Sejm to vote on the issue of legalizing homosexual relationships. The presentation of the petition is only a few weeks away, as the bill is almost finalized. "In a democratic country we cannot forget about a problem which concerns over three million people. We cannot discriminate against them in law," said SLD spokesman Jerzy Wenderlich, adding that none of the members of the presidium opposed the project. According to the bill, two people of the same gender could enter into a partner relationship, which would mean equal distribution of wealth, and the right of inheritance, on the same basis as in a normal marriage. According to a recent SLD Parliamentary Club vote, a quarter of its Deputies voted against the concept of legalizing homosexual relationships. (Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 6; Rzeczpospolita, p. A4) A.K.