Slovenia: Court strikes bans on same-sex marriages, adoption

LJUBLJANA, Slovenia (AP) — A top court in Slovenia has ruled that bans on same-sex couples getting marrying and adopting children are unconstitutional in the small European country. Constitutional Court judges ruled 6-3 on both issues Friday, saying that Slovenia’s laws allowing only opposite-sex marriages and adoptions violated a constitutional prohibition against discrimination. The court said its decision has immediate effect, but it gave lawmakers six months to pass legislation formalizing the changes. Slovenia is breaking ground for LGBTQ rights in Central and Eastern Europe, where several countries have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage and none before now has allowed same-sex couples to wed.