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Slovenian Voters Reject Same-sex Marriage


Pro-gay rights activists wait for exit poll results following a same-sex marriage referendum, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Dec. 20, 2015.
Pro-gay rights activists wait for exit poll results following a same-sex marriage referendum, in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Dec. 20, 2015.

Voters in Slovenia decided not to join many of their European Union partners Sunday by rejecting legalized gay marriage.

Sixty-three percent voted against in a referendum defining marriage as a union between two adults, not necessarily a man and woman. Thirty-six percent voted yes.

Slovenia's parliament approved a pro-gay marriage bill earlier this year but a group of conservatives gathered enough signatures to put the question to voters.

Backers of gay marriage say they will keep pushing for a more liberal law, saying human rights have to be fought for.

Had the measure been approved by a majority of voters, Slovenia would have become Europe's first ex-communist country to legalize gay marriage.

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