Referendum for re-defining Romanian family in Constitution to take place this autumn, says PSD head

The head of the ruling party PSD, Liviu Dragnea, says that the Romanians will be invited to vote in a referendum designed to change the definition of the family in the Constitution at the end of September or in the first Sunday from October.

Dragnea said in September the ruling coalition will discuss a schedule for organizing the referendum, adding there has to be a vote in the Senate to start the procedure.

“It’s a sensitive subject. Each citizen needs to have the possibility to live in the way she/he feels, without disrupting the others,” said Dragnea.

At present, the Constitution states the family is formed through the “consenting marriage between spouses”. In the amended version, the article would state that the marriage is between a male and a female.

This change, which has been backed by 3 million signatures, would essentially block any attempt to legalize gay marriage. For same sex couples, the ruling party proposed the legalization of the civil partnership, but it’s still too early to say when such a draft bill could be signed into law.