Politico.eu: The family referendum in Romania is an attack on human rights happening within the EU’s borders

When voters in Romania turn up to vote in a referendum in October, they might think they’re casting a ballot on the legal definition of a family. In reality, the vote’s consequences are much further-reaching. They are a distraction from the country’s pressing problem of corruption, a feature posted by politico.eu, signed by Evelyn Paradis reads.

At the ballot box next month, voters will be asked to back or strike down a proposal to alter the constitution to restrict the definition of a family to one based on the marriage between a man and woman.

In truth, the initiative — launched in 2015 by a coalition of NGOs that receive backing from the Orthodox Church — is a dangerous diversion tactic. For the government, which gave its backing to the proposal, it’s a useful way to distract voters, thousands of whom took to the streets earlier this year to protest rampant corruption.

As such, the vote is doubly dangerous. (…) Supporters of the proposed constitutional alteration are attempting to use this divisive, hurtful and anti-family campaign to distract from public dissatisfaction with their policies. It might not be corruption in the financial sense, but their actions are certainly morally bankrupt.

This referendum is an attack on human rights happening within the European Union’s borders, the article reads.

Read the full article here.