Romania Prepares to Recognize Same-Sex Marriage

Despite Romanians’ considerable opposition against same-sex marriage, Romania’s Government prepared a draft law to recognize this. It is a complete change in the Government’s view of LGBT lobby.

Precisely, Romania’s Government prepared a draft law stating that Romania recognizes same-sex marriages conducted in a European Union country.

Still, the draft law of the Socialists ruling the country must pass the Parliament’s vote, so the law hasn’t yet come into force. Even so, the representatives of the LGBT associations in Romania are unhappy and demand even more.

In 2018, during the Referendum for the Family, as it was called, 3.5 million Romanians voted for the family to be defined in the Constitution as the union between a man and a woman. Even though 91% of those who voted were against any LGBT interference with the traditional Romanian family, the referendum was invalidated, as only 21% of the total number of voters expressed their votes, instead of a minimum of 30%, as the interpretation of the Constitutional Court says.

Romania must admit LGBTQ rights, the European Commission ruled four years ago, but the country has resisted so far any gay communities’ lobby. Even so, the pressure from the European Commission to offer legal rights to the sexual minority is enormous, and Romania has little room to negotiate such orders from Brussels.