Hungary Says Yes, No, Maybe to Gay Marriage

Hungary’s Constitutional Court has annulled a law giving rights to domestic partners stating it would diminish the importance of marriage.

Passed by parliament a year ago, the law would have allowed unmarried or gay couples to register their domestic relationships beginning Jan. 1, 2009.

The court says the new legislation is unconstitutional because it gives unmarried heterosexual couples the same rights as married ones, which is “downgrading” to the institution of marriage.

At the same time however, the court also stated in its decision that a law allowing domestic partnerships for gay couples would not be unconstitutional, as long as it applied only to same-sex couples and not to unmarried heterosexual couples.