Romania LGBT Activists Hail Constitutional Court Ruling

Romania's Constitutional Court ruled on Thursday that same-sex couples have the same equal rights to a private and family life as heterosexual couples - only a week before a referendum on prohibiting same-sex marriage is due on October 6- 7.

Judges ruled that the issue falls under the terms of the protection of the fundamental right to a private and family life as guaranteed by Article 7 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU, Article 8 of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and Article 26 of the Romanian constitution.

Supporters and opponents of the referendum on changing Romania's constitution, to define marriage in strictly heterosexual terms, reacted differently to the ruling.

The anti-gay marriage Coalition for the Family has long complained that the mainstream media is ignoring and blocking its call for people to turn out and vote in the referendum.

"Given that all legal and constitutional provisions provide for the right of Romanians to be informed about the real object of this referendum, we warn that a policy of blocking radio and TV broadcasts cannot lead to true public information - and is an undemocratic practice," the Coalition stated in a press release.

Accept, an NGO that defends the rights of the LGTB community, on Thursday hailed the Constitutional Court decision as proof that the referendum is pointless.

"Today's decision again confirms that the gay family is equal to any other family. The referendum is becoming totally useless in every respect since the Constitution of Romania already respects the equality of a married heterosexual family and couples of the same sex," Romaniţa Iordache, Accept's vice-president, said.

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