Romania: Civil unions bill unanimously rejected

Measure would have extended rights to gay and straight couples

A parliamentary committee in Romania has voted against a proposal to legalize civil unions for both gay and straight couples, the site stiripentruviata.ro reports.

The bill, spearheaded by MP Remus Cernea, had previously been rejected by the Senate by a vote of 105 to 2, but the report says the opportunity exists for it to be re-introduced to a plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies, even though the chances of the measure succeeding are slim.

If approved, the bill would allow straight and gay couples to make decisions about inheritance, become co-beneficiaries on partners’ health insurance plans, as well as apply jointly for housing loans.

One opponent from the Socialist Democratic Party, MP Daniel Florea, says existing law already adequately addresses issues like marriage.

Another opponent, MP Diana Tusha of the Christian Democratic Nationalist Peasants’ Party, calls it an exercise in “cultural Marxism,” saying there is “no need to traumatize further generations in the name of some illusory progress made through alien recipes.”

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

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