Croatia’s parliament has adopted a Law on Life Partnership, giving same-sex unions most of the same rights that married couples enjoy. The Law was passed on Tuesday with 89 votes for and 16 against. The initiative for the law came from the centre-left government, especially from the Minister for Social Politics and Youth, Milanka Opacic, and the Ministry of State Administration, Arsen Bauk. The move comes after 65 per cent of electors voted in a referendum last December to define marriage exclusively as a “union between a man and a woman”, in effect erecting a constitutional ban against any move to legalise gay marriage. However, the new legislation defines the statutory rights of same-sex couples in much the same way, in areas such as inheritance, pensions, tax and medical care. Although the law does not allow same-sex couples the right to adopt, it gives those that already live with children the same rights as other couples. Source