No longer about civil partnerships, but about the law on the status of a next of kin in a relationship and a cohabitation agreement

This is not a moment of triumph. After two years of Donald Tusk’s government, the ruling coalition has finally developed a joint proposal. It introduces a bill on the status of a next of kin in a relationship and a cohabitation agreement. This is not the law we’ve been fighting for over the years. It’s a meager response to great expectations – and the only one that, in the current situation, can offer any sense of security.

The bill on the status of a next of kin in a relationship and a cohabitation agreement, presented by PSL and the Left, does not bring the equality that LGBT+ people in Poland have long dreamed of and desperately need. It’s merely a shadow of the solutions that have existed in other European countries for decades. And yet, it’s still a small step forward on the path toward marriage equality.

For over 20 years, tens of thousands of couples in Poland have lived without any legal protection. Every day, they live with the fear that if something happens – illness, accident, death – their relationship will mean nothing in the eyes of the state. It’s a life built on love, but without any guarantee that the state will respect that love.

The bill on the status of a next of kin in a relationship and a cohabitation agreement does not introduce marriage equality. It doesn’t even establish civil partnerships. It overlooks the needs and concerns of over 50,000 rainbow families. It’s not a compromise, as some suggest. It’s a solution designed primarily to make it easier for politicians who have been postponing this decision for over 20 years to finally act.

It proposes modest, cautious measures that offer a little bit of safety to those who previously had none. It’s a step forward – but so small and careful that it’s hard to see in it the courage that all families in Poland truly deserve.

67% of Polish society – across political divides – supports legal recognition of same-sex unions. That’s a majority clearly saying: it’s time to acknowledge reality, time to protect all families.

This is not what we hoped for. We wanted a law that isn’t afraid of equality. But since a proposal has appeared – one that at least begins to repair a long-standing injustice – no politician should hesitate to vote for it. And the president should sign it without delay. Our role is to make sure they don’t run away from this obvious decision.

This is a law about the minimum of safety and dignity. A law about human stories that have waited for years to finally be treated seriously.