Podgorica (Montenegro) Jul 2 (AP) Lawmakers in the small Balkan country of Montenegro have approved same-sex partnership as part of efforts to push on with joining the European Union.

They backed the change, which gives same sex couples equal legal rights as heterosexual ones except over child adoption, by a margin of 42 votes to five.

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"This is a huge leap in the right direction for the Montenegrin society," Prime Minister Dusko Markovic said on Wednesday. "In a European Montenegro, there is not and there should not be any room for sexual discrimination."

And the LGBT Forum Progres group said the law has "an unspeakably tremendous importance for all LGBT persons in Montenegro".

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Montenegro has been a predominantly conservative and male-dominated society where LGBT people have often faced rejection and harassment. Boosting rights of minority groups is necessary in EU integration process. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)