Romanian novelist fears referendum to stop marriage equality will increase hate and discrimination
The country is set to hold a referendum this weekend to decide whether marriage equality will be legalised
By Steve Brown
A Romanian novelist fears a referendum to prevent marriage equality will increase a level of hate and discrimination.
Currently the country doesn’t allow same-sex couples to get married or a civil partnership and this weekend coming, there will be a vote on whether to change the constitutional definition of marriage.
However, openly gay bar owner Alex Andronic believes the referendum gave people more reason to spread hate towards the LGBT community.
He told Reuters: “This referendum gave people a reason to spread as much hate as possible and we will suffer because of it.”
Many human rights groups are encouraging people to boycott the ballot and needs five million votes to be valid.
Some campaign groups are urging people to vote Yes or run the risk of same-sex couples “stealing or adopting” their children.
The Orthodox Church has also come forward as a supporter of the ban and said it would be Christian, democratic and patriotic.
Vlad Viski, of the LGBT rights group Mozaiq, said: “This brings hate speech from the fringes to the mainstream with an impact on all groups in society, and the rights of all minorities will be put under question.”