[JURIST] The Parliament of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia voted Tuesday [EU Parliament’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights report] to ban same-sex marriage by defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The law defines marriage as “a life union solely of one woman and one man” and further states that any changes to this new definition will require a two-thirds majority vote in the future. The amendment still needs presidential approval but did receive a 72-4 majority vote in parliament. An earlier draft of the law expressly denied same-sex civil unions but was criticized by other international groups.

Same-sex marriage has been a hotly debated issue over the past few years. Last week the US Supreme Court agreed [JURIST report] to rule on same-sex marriage, granting certiorari in four separate cases. In August Ugandan Attorney General Peter Nyomb filed [JURIST report] an appeal against the constitutional court ruling that struck down the nation’s anti-homosexuality law. In January 2014 Nigerian president signed [JURIST report] into law anti-gay legislation.