What do we want?

- Amendment of the Civil Code to allow same-sex marriage and recognition of same-sex marriages concluded abroad;

- Legislating civil partnership, regardless of the sex of the two partners, registered by a civil registrar;

- Protection of the de facto family, which does not opt for marriage or civil partnership, in the areas of property, health and to prevent and combat domestic violence.

Why is it important?

All families deserve legal recognition and protection. Right now, LGBTQIA+ families, made up of same-sex couples, are not recognised by the state. Even though they are real, legitimate families based on care, love and respect, they do not exist for the Romanian state. This is unfair, because all citizens should enjoy equal treatment and dignity in relation to the Romanian state authorities.

On 23rd of May 2023, the European Court of Human Rights pronounced a long awaited judgment by the tens of thousands of families formed of same-sex individuals in Romania in the case of Buhuceanu and Ciobotaru and 20 other families versus Romania. The judgment comes four years after 42 people sued the Romanian State for the lack of legal recognition and protection for their families. In this case, the ECHR found that Romania had violated Article 8 of the Convention, which protects family life, in the case of the 42 petitioners. Following this historic judgment, in order to align to the Convention, Romania must adopt a legal form of recognition of families of persons of the same sex. The ECHR clearly emphasizes that these families urgently need some form of recognition that gives these families equal rights and creates a legal framework that protects the common living of these couples.

The Romanian State, through the Government and Parliament, must offer solutions to resolve concrete life situations for all its citizens. Regardless of their sexual orientation, Romanian citizens need regulations that allow all of them, among other things: to accompany their partner to the hospital, to inherit their partner or to be able to claim their contribution to the building of the common home, to have a say regarding their partner in various life and death situations. They must also be able to say I DO! to the civil registrar and gain recognition in society and in the eyes of the state as a family.

This legislative void can no longer be justified today, more than 20 years after the adoption of anti-discrimination legislation and the decriminalization of same-sex relationships.

71% of Romanians believe that legal recognition of same-sex families would have no impact on their lives, and 68% believe that all families should be protected by law, including same-sex families would have no impact on their lives, and 68% believe that all families should be protected by law, including same-sex families. Furthermore, 67% think it is unfair that gay and lesbian people cannot inherit their partner and thus lose their shared home or the life they have built together. It is time for the Romanian state to put an end to the undignified treatment of hundreds of thousands of families and to recognise their place in Romanian society.