How do we define family?

A citizens initiative signed by millions seeks to redefine the concept of “family in Romania.

Corina Cristea, 07.07.2017, 11:00

A few million Romanians have already signed a
citizens’ initiative to revise the definition of the family in the Constitution
as being based on the free-consensual marriage between a man and a woman
instead of between spouses, the definition in use at present. The initiative
is spearheaded by the Coalition for Family. According to the chairman of the
Committee for Constitutional Initiative, Mihai Gheorghiu, this is a premiere at
national and European level, enjoying the support of both the Orthodox
community and the Catholic and Protestant religious denominations. This is the
first time in the history of modern Romania that three million people have
called for a revision of the Constitution. This effort cannot be overlooked and
the project will be discussed, although everyone keeps silent about it, which
cannot be a good sign, Mihai Gheorghiu said when the initiative was tabled to
the Senate.

Meanwhile, things have progressed a great deal,
and the citizens’ initiative was this week passed by the Chamber of Deputies.
Dan Barna, an MP with the Save Romania Union in opposition, the party that gave
the most votes against the initiative, explained that while he respects
citizens’ right of initiative, holding a referendum on this matter, as required
by the law, would polarise society. Dan Barna:

Is the traditional family an important value
in our society? Without a doubt, yes. Is tolerance and respect for minority
groups an important value in our society? Without a doubt, yes. Let’s be honest
about it, this referendum compels Romanian citizens to prioritise the two
values. This referendum will deepen the fracture existing in our society.

The initiative is not targeting anyone in
particular and is not an act of intolerance, Senator Varujan Vosganian with the
Alliance of Liberals and Democrats has said:

I never thought that the idea of maternity intertwined
with the idea of paternity could be interpreted as an act of intolerance. In
fact, this is what the human condition is built upon. Not to mention the
tradition of our nation. Highlighting the fact that a child should call one
parent mother and the other father is not an attack against someone, as
everyone is free, under the Constitution, to live according to his or her own
desires, abilities and preferences!

Part of civil society has contested the
initiative. One of the arguments against it is the fact that the definition it
proposes is already included in the Civil Code, or that this undertaking might
lead to difficult situations. For instance in the case of a man who has
undergone sex reassignment surgery and who returns to Romania in order to make
his relationship with a man official. The intervention of the Romanian Orthodox
Church in this matter is seen as an attempt to restore Romanians’ trust in this
institution. When priests across the country started gathering signatures in
favour of the project, Patriarch Daniel explained that the traditional family
finds itself in a fragile and difficult spot, because it is considered by many
as obsolete and old-fashioned, and because we live in a world dominated by
individualism and secularism that doesn’t strive for a life of prayer or
raising children in the Christian faith. Therefore, the Patriarch argues, we
must support the effort of defending the natural, traditional and universal
family and resisting the new family models,
which deem the union between man and woman as just one other possible model.

Teodora Rosetti, a programme coordinator with
ACCEPT Association spoke to Radio Romania about the view of her organisation,
which has been advocating the rights of LGBT persons in Romania for the last 20
years:

ACCEPT sees this initiative as redundant, one that is aimed at
stigmatising LGBT persons, as well as diverting public attention from the very
serious problems the Romanian society and families are confronted with. The
moment the entire debate is focused on this community, the community of gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons in Romania, while these persons are
presented as a threat, a completely fictitious threat in our opinion, to the
traditional family and its well-being, we basically channel the latent hatred
in society, the hatred of people who are dissatisfied with other day-to-day
matters, against this minority group, which in Romania is almost invisible,
which has very few recognised rights, and which is facing major problems when
it comes to being guaranteed the protection of the law, thus taking the debate
away from the actual problems faced by
family in Romania.

Without
denying the existence of the problems raised by Theodora Rosetti, the
representative of the Coalition for Family Catalin Vasile says the move
initiated in Parliament to redefine the concept of family was necessary for
things to be clearly stipulated in the Constitution. He says that for marriage
to remain a good environment for raising children and for the latter’s
development and education it should be defined as the union between a man and a
woman. If the proposal is also endorsed by the Senate, Romanians will vote on
the matter in a referendum that has to be called within 30 days of the adoption
of the bill.