Referendum fails: Slovaks still cannot enter same-sex marriages

Due to low turnout in Slovakia, a referendum on banning same-sex marriages and prohibiting same-sex couples from adopting children has failed, reports the Patria news agency.

Only 21.4 percent of voters turned out for the referendum, far below the required 50 percent, according to data from the statistics office after 99.9 percent of votes were processed, Reuters reports.

In the referendum, Slovaks voted on whether marriage represents exclusively a union between a woman and a man, on the right of same-sex couples to adopt children, and on the right of parents to decide whether their children attend classes where sex education and euthanasia are taught.

In Slovakia, a member of the European Union (EU), same-sex marriages and civil unions are not permitted, and same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt children.

The Alliance for Family association, which supported the referendum, attempted through the referendum to solidify these bans, thereby making it more difficult to amend the law in the future.