Latvia: National Alliance, proposal to “recognise the family as the union of a man and a woman”. Mr Barbut (FAFCE), “go forward in this direction”

The Latvian National Alliance party has tabled a proposal in the Saeima (national Parliament), namely a Constitutional Amendment to recognise the family as the union of a man and a woman. This is in response to the Constitutional Court that had ruled in November that a same-sex partnership had the right to be protected and supported like all families. The National Alliance’s proposal aims to clarify the concept of family as the union of a man and a woman, and to ensure the State can better protect children’s rights. “We support the efforts of the Latvian legislators towards the recognition of marriage as the stable union of a man and a woman, at the basis of the family”, said the President of the Federation of Catholic Family Associations in Europe (FAFCE), Vincenzo Bassi. According to FAFCE Vice-President Cornel Barbut (pictured), this position is the positive sign of “lively and mature democratic societies”. Hence, “we really hope that the Latvian Parliament will go forward in this direction”. According to Mr Bassi, the current pandemic has “made clear to everybody the generative role of the family”. Indeed, he said, “this is the right moment for the legislators, from all political parties, to recognise this simple fact. It is not a matter of ideology”. The recognition of same-sex couples is a topical issue in Estonia too, where some political parties are calling for a referendum on the 2014 Cohabitation Act.
Sarah Numico