Romanian Law Reform Protested
PlanetOut, July
11, 2000
A bill to decriminalize consensual homosexual acts was protested by some 2,500
Christian demonstrators in the Romanian town of Arad on July 9, according to the
Associated Press. The two-hour march with national and religious flags, black ribbons, and
banners reading "No to homosexuality" and "Jesus is the truth" was
peaceful. Catholics and Baptists reportedly joined Romanian Orthodox Church members, who
comprise more than 80% of the population.
The bill was overwhelmingly passed by the Chamber of Deputies in late June but has yet
to be approved by the Senate or the President. It represents Romania’s latest attempt
to meet European standards of equal treatment in hopes of gaining membership in the
European Union; if the nation has not achieved decriminalization and other human rights
targets by August 4, the Council of Europe will renew its supervision of Romania. Although
the current bill removes specific references to gays from the penal code, it still
punishes "perverted sexual acts" in public with up to five years’
imprisonment, compared to two years for public heterosexual acts.
"Perverted sexual acts" are defined in the bill as "abnormal sexual
practices including oral and anal sex" and "any unnatural acts in connection
with sexual life," but the Romanian gay and lesbian activist group ACCEPT (The
Bucharest Acceptance Group) complains that this language is vague and fears that
same-gender couples may be arrested for holding hands or kissing. The last effort at
sodomy law reform in Romania’s seven-year struggle between its European aspirations
and its powerful religious traditions left a gaping loophole for any actions that offend
another person. That provision resulted in police harassment and extortion of gays as well
as incarcerations.
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