Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender LGBT rights in Croatia have expanded since the turn of the 21st century, especially in the s and s. The status of same-sex relationships was first formally recognized in under a law dealing with unregistered cohabitations. As a result of a referendum , the Constitution of Croatia defines marriage solely as a union between a woman and man, effectively prohibiting same-sex marriage.
In , a final court judgement allowed same-sex adoption both stepchild and joint adoptions under the same conditions as for mixed-sex couples. Same-sex couples in Croatia can also apply for foster care since Croatian law forbids all discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation , gender identity , and gender expression in all civil and state matters; any such identity is considered a private matter, and such information gathering for any purpose is forbidden as well.
Centre-left, centre, liberal and green political parties have generally been the main proponents of LGBT rights promulgation, while right-wing, centre-right and Christian democratic political parties and movements with ties to the Roman Catholic Church have been in opposition to or moderation of the extension of rights.
None of the proposed bills has passed legislation as of January The Adriatic Republic of Ragusa introduced the death penalty for sodomy in as a response to stereotypical fears that Ottoman conquests in the region will lead to the spread of homosexuality. The Penal Code established on 27 May in the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia the first modern one in Croatian did not specify homosexuality as a crime. During World War II , homosexual persons were prosecuted under various fascist regimes, but there is no record of organized persecution of homosexuals in the fascist Independent State of Croatia , whose laws did not explicitly contain a regulation directed against them.
During the period when Croatia was part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , male homosexual acts were made illegal and punishable with up to two years of prison under the Penal Code of 9 March Homosexuals, labeled by communists as "enemies of the system", were also prohibited from joining the Communist Party of Yugoslavia. This situation changed when Croatia and other republics gained more control over their own legislature. Constitutional reforms in Yugoslavia in resulted in the abolishment of the federal Penal Code , allowing every republic to create its own.
