A referendum in Slovakia to strengthen the country's already-existing ban on marriages and child adoptions by same-sex couples has failed.
Voter turnout in the February 7 plebiscite was just over 21 percent, far below the 50 percent needed for the vote to be valid.
Slovakia does not allow gay marriages or civil unions, nor adoptions by same-sex couples.
The conservative movement that backed the referendum sought to make it more difficult to change those bans through legislation.
Liberals, gay rights activists, and some media outlets had advised voters to defeat the referendum by not taking part.
The group behind the referendum, Alliance for the Family, argued that the traditional family is under threat with more countries, including neighboring Austria and the Czech Republic, allowing forms of same-sex unions or child adoption by gay couples.
