The amendment was proposed earlier this year by the First Party of Latvia who initiated extreme homophobic campaign again the first LGBT Pride March last July in Riga. Although the First Party is stressing that the aim of the amendment is to protect and strengthen family, they openly stated they want to ensure that Latvia does not join other European countries which provide legal recognition for same-sex partners. They regard this amendment the most important decision to be taken during the current parliament term.

65 members of the 100 seats Latvian Parliament supported the amendment, 5 MPs voted against and 20 abstained. In order for the amendment to pass it needs to go through three readings. Constitutional amendment can be approved if during each reading there are at least 2/3 of the MPs presents and each reading gain support for the amendment from at least of 2/3 of the MPs present during the reading.

The second reading on the constitutional amendment is scheduled for 12 November 2005 and all the submissions regarding the constitutional amendment need to be sent to the Parliamentary Legal Committee (this committee is responsible for the amendment) before 12 November 2005.

Lesbian and gay activists in Latvia are coordinating a letter campaign to the Parliament and prepared a letter to the Latvian president inviting her to engage into this debate:

"Your Excellency President Vaira Viķe-Freiberga,

In the last few months, the gay, lesbian and bisexual community in Latvia has been on the receiving end of countless verbal attacks by Ministers and Saeima Deputies. On a regular basis the press reports their homophobic statements, made during debates in the Saeima, during interviews and through press releases. Gays, lesbians and bisexuals have been called everything from monkeys, to the most important threat to family values in Latvia. At the moment, these same deputies are working hard to institutionalize discrimination against sexual minorities in Latvia, by amending our Constitution.

President Viķe-Freiberga, we undersigned invite you to participate in the public debate on sexual minority rights in Latvia. At the moment, the only messages we hear from the political leaders in this country is one of homophobia, paranoia, fear and discrimination. Through their public statements, Ministers and Deputies are telling our nation that it is acceptable and even encouraged to discriminate and condemn gays, lesbians and bisexuals in Latvia. We invite you, as a doctor of psychology, educator, president, world leader, but most importantly as a citizen of Latvia, to bring reason and intelligence to this debate. Our society needs to hear from our political leaders that discrimination, hate and mockery of sexual minorities are not accepted practices in our democratic Latvia. We invite you to serve as a model of tolerance and understanding, from which our nation can learn and grow.

Yours sincerely, Concerned citizens, non-citizens and residents of Latvia"

We kindly ask you all to support our effort not to allow this homophobic amendment to be passed and write to the Latvian president inviting her to engage into current debate and to support

We also ask you to write to the Legal Committee of the Latvian Parliament to express your condemnation of the constitutional amendment and inviting the Parliament to address the issue of the rights for same-sex partners.

Juridiska Komisija (Legal Committee)
Saeima
Jēkaba ielā 11
Rīga LV 1811
Latvia
E-mail: ikrumina@saeima.lv

Vaira Vike-Freiberga
President of the Republic of Latvia
Pils laukums 3
Riga LV-1050
Latvia
E-mail: chancery@president.lv

If you have any questions regarding the situation in Latvian, please do not hesitate contacting us: jlavrikovs@hotmail.com