A few million Romanians have already signed a
\ncitizens’ initiative to revise the definition of the family in the Constitution
\nas being based on the free-consensual marriage between a man and a woman
\ninstead of between spouses, the definition in use at present. The initiative
\nis spearheaded by the Coalition for Family. According to the chairman of the
\nCommittee for Constitutional Initiative, Mihai Gheorghiu, this is a premiere at
\nnational and European level, enjoying the support of both the Orthodox
\ncommunity and the Catholic and Protestant religious denominations. This is the
\nfirst time in the history of modern Romania that three million people have
\ncalled for a revision of the Constitution. This effort cannot be overlooked and
\nthe project will be discussed, although everyone keeps silent about it, which
\ncannot be a good sign, Mihai Gheorghiu said when the initiative was tabled to
\nthe Senate. <\/p>\n
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Meanwhile, things have progressed a great deal,
\nand the citizens’ initiative was this week passed by the Chamber of Deputies.
\nDan Barna, an MP with the Save Romania Union in opposition, the party that gave
\nthe most votes against the initiative, explained that while he respects
\ncitizens’ right of initiative, holding a referendum on this matter, as required
\nby the law, would polarise society. Dan Barna:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Is the traditional family an important value
\nin our society? Without a doubt, yes. Is tolerance and respect for minority
\ngroups an important value in our society? Without a doubt, yes. Let’s be honest
\nabout it, this referendum compels Romanian citizens to prioritise the two
\nvalues. This referendum will deepen the fracture existing in our society.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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The initiative is not targeting anyone in
\nparticular and is not an act of intolerance, Senator Varujan Vosganian with the
\nAlliance of Liberals and Democrats has said: <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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I never thought that the idea of maternity intertwined
\nwith the idea of paternity could be interpreted as an act of intolerance. In
\nfact, this is what the human condition is built upon. Not to mention the
\ntradition of our nation. Highlighting the fact that a child should call one
\nparent mother and the other father is not an attack against someone, as
\neveryone is free, under the Constitution, to live according to his or her own
\ndesires, abilities and preferences! <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n
Part of civil society has contested the
\ninitiative. One of the arguments against it is the fact that the definition it
\nproposes is already included in the Civil Code, or that this undertaking might
\nlead to difficult situations. For instance in the case of a man who has
\nundergone sex reassignment surgery and who returns to Romania in order to make
\nhis relationship with a man official. The intervention of the Romanian Orthodox
\nChurch in this matter is seen as an attempt to restore Romanians’ trust in this
\ninstitution. When priests across the country started gathering signatures in
\nfavour of the project, Patriarch Daniel explained that the traditional family
\nfinds itself in a fragile and difficult spot, because it is considered by many
\nas obsolete and old-fashioned, and because we live in a world dominated by
\nindividualism and secularism that doesn’t strive for a life of prayer or
\nraising children in the Christian faith. Therefore, the Patriarch argues, we
\nmust support the effort of defending the natural, traditional and universal
\nfamily and resisting the new family models,
\nwhich deem the union between man and woman as just one other possible model.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
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Teodora Rosetti, a programme coordinator with
\nACCEPT Association spoke to Radio Romania about the view of her organisation,
\nwhich has been advocating the rights of LGBT persons in Romania for the last 20
\nyears:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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<\/p>\n
ACCEPT sees this initiative as redundant, one that is aimed at
\nstigmatising LGBT persons, as well as diverting public attention from the very
\nserious problems the Romanian society and families are confronted with. The
\nmoment the entire debate is focused on this community, the community of gay,
\nlesbian, bisexual and transgender persons in Romania, while these persons are
\npresented as a threat, a completely fictitious threat in our opinion, to the
\ntraditional family and its well-being, we basically channel the latent hatred
\nin society, the hatred of people who are dissatisfied with other day-to-day
\nmatters, against this minority group, which in Romania is almost invisible,
\nwhich has very few recognised rights, and which is facing major problems when
\nit comes to being guaranteed the protection of the law, thus taking the debate
\naway from the actual problems faced by
\nfamily in Romania.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n
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<\/p>\n
Without
\ndenying the existence of the problems raised by Theodora Rosetti, the
\nrepresentative of the Coalition for Family Catalin Vasile says the move
\ninitiated in Parliament to redefine the concept of family was necessary for
\nthings to be clearly stipulated in the Constitution. He says that for marriage
\nto remain a good environment for raising children and for the latter’s
\ndevelopment and education it should be defined as the union between a man and a
\nwoman. If the proposal is also endorsed by the Senate, Romanians will vote on
\nthe matter in a referendum that has to be called within 30 days of the adoption
\nof the bill. <\/p>\n
\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A citizens initiative signed by millions seeks to redefine the concept of \u201cfamily in Romania.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":108,"featured_media":141972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43939],"tags":[32037,19347],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-155695","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-future-starts-today","tag-family","tag-romania"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n