Thousands of people gathered in Vilnius on Saturday to protest against a legislative proposal to allow civil unions for same-sex couples.
The openly gay MEP Tomas Vytautas Raskevicius is behind the bill which Parliament is due to consider next month.
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According to the police, ten thousand people attended the demonstration, dubbed the
"march in defense of the family".
Centrist President Gitanas Nauseda said on Saturday that any legal recognition of same-sex couples must comply with the country's constitution which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Protesters see same-sex unions as a threat to traditional family values.
A 2019 Eurobarometer survey found that 70% of Lithuanians oppose legal recognition of same-sex unions, marking one of the strongest opposition to gay rights in the EU.
The new proposal aims to grant LGBT couples inheritance and joint ownership rights, procedural guarantees, the ability to change their last name, but without the right to adopt children, according to local media.
"It is not acceptable for me, for my children and my grandchildren
," protester Alfredas, 55, who refused to disclose his last name told AFP.
The issue has divided the Conservative-led government coalition, but could muster enough support among their liberal allies and opposition Social Democrats to win. Liberal parties also want to ratify the Istanbul Convention, an international agreement designed to protect women from violence.