Prague, July 25 (CTK) – A majority of Czechs (62 percent) hold the view that homosexual men and women should have the right to adopt children of their same-sex partner and nearly half of Czechs (48 percent) would let them adopt children that are raised in institutions, according to a CVVM poll released on Monday.
Twenty-nine percent share the view that gays and lesbians should not have the right to adopt the offspring of their homosexual partner.
At present, if a same-sex couple raises a child of one of the partners, the other partner cannot officially be the child’s parent.
A possible amendment to the law that would enable these adoptions was subject to a heated parliamentary discussion earlier this month. The debate is to be resumed after the summer recess.
Government MP Pavlina Nytrova (Social Democrats, CSSD) caused a stir by saying in the Chamber of Deputies that homosexuals would try to make sex with children legal. Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka (CSSD) called on her to apologise for her statements, but she refused to do so.
The CVVM poll showed that the group of those who would give homosexuals the right to adopt children from children’s homes and other institutions is slightly larger than the group that holds the opposite view.
A slight majority (51 percent) would give homosexuals the right to conclude marriage, while 43 percent are against it.
Three quarters of Czechs (74 percent) recognise the right of homosexuals to registered partnership.
Same-sex unions can be officially concluded in the country since 2006 and 2322 couples have used the opportunity.
The group of those who believe that revealing one’s lesbian or gay orientation would create problems for the given person in their home town was larger than the group that said it would not cause problems.
Young people, university graduates and well-off persons tend to support the rights for homosexuals. These people also said they have friends among gays and lesbians more often than others, the pollsters said.
The poll was conducted on 1005 people aged over 15 years in June.
