Croatia to hold gay marriage referendum on December 1

Croatian lawmakers voted on Friday to hold a referendum on December 1 that would rule out same-sex marriage in the Roman Catholic country, despite strong objections from gay rights activists. The referendum on whether to amend the country's constitution to define marriage as a "union between a woman and a man" was called after 700,000 people signed a petition launched by a conservative group seeking such a nation-wide vote. A total of 104 MPs in the 151-seat assembly backed holding of the referendum compared with 13 who voted against. The others were absent or abstained.