Lithuanian minister questions need for constitutional referendum on family definition

Lithuania’s social security and labour minister has expressed scepticism about a parliamentary push to hold an advisory referendum on defining family in the constitution, LRT reports.

Social Democrat Jūratė Zailskienė said the country’s current constitutional definition of family—enshrined in Article 38 as a union based on the free consent of a man and a woman, with state protection for family, motherhood, fatherhood, and childhood—was already “very clear.”

Over 60 lawmakers from various factions, excluding liberals, have proposed holding the referendum alongside next year’s municipal elections. Voters would be asked whether to explicitly state that legal family relations arise only from marriage between a man and a woman, as well as parenthood.

Zailskienė questioned the timing, asking whether this was “the most important thing to do now.” She argued that issues like national defence and demographics should take priority, adding that the debate risked dividing society. “In our state, we must love every person, and family is also a creation of love,” she told Žinių Radijas.

The Constitutional Court has previously ruled that the constitutional concept of family cannot be derived solely from the institution of marriage. A quarter of parliamentarians can propose a referendum, with the final decision resting with the Seimas. For the advisory vote to be valid, more than half of eligible voters must participate.