The National Assembly of Austria has taken a strong stance against equal marriage yesterday (18 June).

Two days before Vienna Pride, the Assembly voted against a proposed resolution to grant lesbian and gay couples ‘the human right of equal marriage’.

Out of 136 representatives, only 26 voted for and 110 against the proposal in a roll-call vote; the Green party, who proposed the resolution, was the only party to fully support marriage equality.

On Tuesday, in light of the opening of Vienna’s Pride Village, the Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÃ–), coalition partner to the conservative Austrian People’s Party, demanded equality for all – now their representatives voted against marriage equality.

‘The SPÃ–’s deepest conviction are equal marriage rights for homosexual people,’ said party whip Andreas Schieder during a discussion about the resolution.

‘We demand full equality. Right now, such a resolution – even supported by the SPÃ– – wouldn’t get a majority.

‘Which is why we will continue to work on convincing conservative forces that these are life realities and discrimination cannot have a place.’

Austrian LGBTI blog thinkoutsideyourbox.net accused the SPÃ– of ‘betraying the LGBT’ and said they should be banned from Pride.

A vote in favor of marriage equality would very likely have seen the Austrian government follow suit and allow equal marriage, although there are no real sanctions for failing to comply with a resolution, a government spokesperson told Gay Star News.