(ANSA-AP) - BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) - Romanians have begun
two days of voting on a constitutional amendment that would make
it harder to legalize same-sex marriage. The vote has raised
concerns that non-traditional families will be discriminated
against. A conservative group initiated the referendum being
held on Saturday and Sunday, and the influential Romanian
Orthodox Church is backing it. The proposed amendment would
revise the definition of family in the Constitution of Romania
to make marriage "a union between a man and a woman" instead of
"a union between spouses."
Romanian law already prohibits same-sex marriages. Opponents
say the new constitutional language is a mean-spirited attempt
to make LGBT people feel more like second-class citizens and
also could marginalize households led by single parents or
unmarried couples raising children. The referendum requires a
30-percent turnout of registered voters to be valid.
The proposed change would prevent any attempt to legalize
same-sex marriage through legislation. Dressed in white robes
and a white miter, Patriarch Daniel cast his ballot Saturday
morning, but didn't address the issue of marriage. However, he
encouraged Romanians to vote, calling it: "a right, an honor and
a blessing." Leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party Liviu
Dragnea said Romania should decide how to wanted to run its own
affairs and praised "the traditional family, a man and a woman
who have children," either naturally or through adoption. "For
years, others have been telling us how we should live," he said
after voting. "Now is the moment for us to decide for ourselves
what kind of society and country we want and how we want to live
in our country." However, he added that Romania should create "a
legal framework for same-sex partnerships." Prime Minister
Viorica Dancila earlier said that "I voted for the values in
which I believe," adding that "it is our civic duty to express
our views." The vote came about after the Coalition for Family
submitted a petition with 3 million signatures proposing for the
constitution to be amended.
The group said it was concerned young Romanians were learning
about so-called non-traditional family arrangements in school.
Gay rights groups say the constitutional revision could
encourage homophobia by further promoting the view that only
opposite-sex marriages are legitimate and same-sex relationships
are unworthy of recognition or protection. At a rally this week
in southern Romania, Orthodox Bishop Sebastian Pascanu told
believers that homosexuality was an "abnormality that first
appeared in Western countries." "This abnormality needs therapy,
treatment rather than special laws like the ones that have
different sexual orientations would like to have." In the
village of Plopeni Sat north of Bucharest, local resident, Elena
Moldoveanu said her religious beliefs will lead her to approve
amending the constitution, "because this is how it should be,
and this is how God made us."
But others, like Marcel Badea, an electrician who lives in a
southern Romanian village on the River Danube, said he'd boycott
the vote. "I am (already) a husband, a father and grandfather. I
have nothing to vote for," he said. "I don't need this
referendum. Even if I vote 'no,' I will help the referendum get
the turnout it needs." ___ Nicolae Dumitrache in Bucharest, and
Olimpiu Gheorghiu in Plopeni Sat, contributed to this report.
ALISON MUTLER/ (ANSA-AP).
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