Same sex couples won't receive similar rights to married couples Shutterstock

Poland’s lower house of parliament, the Sejm, has given the thumbs down to three different legislative proposals aiming to sanction civil partnerships.
One project was put together by the center-right ruling Civic Platform (PO), and the other two by the socially liberal Palikot’s Movement (RP) and the Democratic Left Alliance.
While the proposals differed in their details on issues such as whether to allow one of the partners to take on the other’s last name, all three of them granted alimony benefits to civil partners. None of the three proposals included adoption and citizenship rights or joint tax breaks.

‘There can be no love’

The debate that preceded voting was heated. “There is no doubt that there can be no love between two men or women, only friendship,” said Artur Górski, a Law and Justice MP. “But not love, especially the kind that can be found in marriage. That kind of love leads to procreation. People of the same sex can not reproduce. Even in theory.”
Wincenty Elsner, a member of parliament from RP retorted, “You need to be cured of homophobia and intolerance.”
But there were opponents in the ruling party itself, which had after all submitted its own legislation on the issue. Justice Minister Jarosław Gowin, a conservative PO politician, said in parliament that all three legislative proposals were in breach of the Polish constitution.

‘Raucous laughter’

But the leader of his party, Prime Minister Donald Tusk, quickly disavowed those words saying, “this is only Mr Gowin’s personal opinion, and not the official position of the government.”
Mr Tusk himself is a proponent of civil partnerships and appealed for a sense of decorum during the debate. “This is a very delicate and difficult matter for many people. It shouldn’t trigger raucous laughter.”
In the end, PO’s proposal came closest to passing, winning 211 votes in the 460-member Sejm.

Jacek Ciesnowski