There have been several bills on registered partnership which were rejected by the lower house.

Like in the past years, the vote was very tight and the bill was short of one vote to be passed.

After the results were announced, the opponents started applauding in the room. Representatives of the Gay and Lesbian League said behind the scene that they would try again to have the law on registered partnership passed.

Christian Democrat Jiri Karas told journalists that he considered Friday's decision as a victory of common sense.

One of the drafters of the bill, Tana Fischerova (the Freedom Union-DEU) said she did not know whether she would repeatedly propose the bill in this election term.

"Evidently there is no will for this in this Chamber of Deputies," she said.

The proposals to embed in law homosexuals' partnerships have regularly divided individual parties, while only the Christian Democrats are against them in unison.

Generally, the legislation tends to be more supported by the left. This was shown by today's vote. The bill was backed by 82 out of the 165 deputies present - most voting Social Democrats, Communists, the Freedom Union members and some deputies for the opposition Civic Democratic Party (ODS).

The Christian Democrats were against.

The opponents of the legislation argue with the fear of the weakening of the traditional family. Its proponents are not afraid of it. They said there is no reason for a part of citizens not having the same rights as the rest only because they have different sexual orientation.

The laws on registered partnership of homosexuals are valid in a number of EU countries. The couples of the same sex can conclude registered partnership in Norway and Switzerland.

Source: http://www.ceskenoviny.cz/news/index_view.php?id=115062