Final “NO” For Partnerships in Romania

Firstly the referendum, now the Senate’s decision. The possibility of registering partnerships and same-sex marriages was dismissed in Romania

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA.ORG

In recent days, the Senate made a decision in that matter. The bill on partnerships which included privileges for same-sex marriages was dismissed. The bill was proposed by the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (Alianța Liberalilor și Democraților; ALDE) which is a part of the ruling coalition. With this bill, another project was dismissed which postulated that violence in mentioned partnerships should be dealt with according to the same rules as domestic violence. The same bill included the possibility of inheritance for people living in partnerships and access to social or tax privileges.

Even though the bills were submitted by ALDE, Liviu Dragnea, the leader of the Social Democratic Party (Partidul Social Democrat; PSD) was responsible for their process. It is possible that this was a kind of public opinion checking made through the agency of a weaker coalition member. In the relatively conservative Romanian society, such ideas have not found a fertile ground yet. The recent referendum is worth mentioning. In relation to the planned changes in the constitution, a referendum was held on the initiative of a conservative party Coalition for Family (Coaliția pentru Familie). It referred to a change in the sentence „Familia se întemeiază pe căsătoria liber consimțită între soți” (“a family is based on the voluntary union between spouses”) – organisers were afraid that this could lead to the legalisation of same-sex marriages in the future.

Eventually, the referendum was boycotted by many circles which translated to a very poor turnout. As a result, the outcome was not binding. It is worth noticing, though, that 90% of people who voted were for the change.

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